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Article: Egypt court upholds female circumcision ban
- Article from:
- Chicago Sun-Times
- Article date:
- December 29, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 1997 Chicago Sun-Times. (Hide copyright information)
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CAIRO, Egypt Ending a long battle between Islamic fundamentalists
and human rights groups, Egypt's high court Sunday upheld a Health
Ministry decision banning government-certified doctors and health
workers from performing female circumcision.
Under the ruling, doctors and health workers who perform the
procedure face three years in prison and hospitals risk closure.
The court decision cannot be appealed.
The proponents of female circumcision, including some clerics,
argue that the surgery is a requirement of Islam. But that view is
disputed by many Muslim scholars, and the clerics have never provided
evidence to support their claim.
The Supreme Administrative Court ruled Sunday that ...