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Article: Egypt's female circumcision ban nullified
- Article from:
- Chicago Sun-Times
- Article date:
- June 25, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 1997 Chicago Sun-Times. (Hide copyright information)
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CAIRO, Egypt A court struck down a government ban on the widely
practiced ritual known as female circumcision Tuesday.
The ruling was a victory for Islamic fundamentalists who claim
that female circumcision - called female genital mutilation by its
critics - protects women from what fundamentalists consider the
consequences of excessive sexual desire as well as sexually
transmitted diseases and other maladies. Human-rights activists have
argued that the procedure is cruel, unnecessary and damaging to
women's sexual and reproductive health.
The ruling also demonstrated the continued influence of Islamic
fundamentalists in Egyptian courts, whose conservative rulings on