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Article: Egyptians Stand By Female Circumcision; Tradition Flouts Foreign Pressures To Eliminate the Risky Practice
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- November 24, 1996
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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Last month, the parents of 4-year-old Amira Hassan did what
they thought was their duty as good Muslims: They hired the family
physician to snip off part of her genitals.
When she died a few hours later, apparently as a result of
complications from anesthesia, Mahmoud Hassan and his wife, Atiyat,
accepted it as God's will. Now the only thing that puzzles them is
why anyone thinks that the doctor, Ezzat Shehat, did anything wrong.
"He is a good doctor," said Hassan, 27, a somber grocer with a
neatly trimmed mustache. "They should let him return to work."
The death of the little girl -- one of two who suffered the
same fate at the hands of the same doctor on the same day --
highlights ...