Egyptian father on trial for tricking his daughters into banned female genital mutilation surgery
Three girls were tricked into outlawed procedure thinking its anti-coronavirus vaccination
Dad tricked 3 daughters into undergoing the outlawed procedure by telling them they would get anti- coronavirus vaccination
Cairo: Egypt's top prosecutor has ordered an urgent trial for a doctor and a father of three girls for subjecting them to the banned female genital mutilation (FGM), legal sources have said.
The father had tricked the three underage daughters into undergoing the procedure after he told them that the doctor was at home to vaccinate them against the new coronavirus, prosecutors said.
After the girls were injected, they lost consciousness. When they came to later, they found their legs tied up and felt pains in their genitalia, according to investigations. A medical examination showed that outer parts of their genitalia were removed.
The incident came to the attention of authorities after the three girls informed their divorced mother.
The victims recognised the doctor during investigations. He is charged with violating a years-long ban on FGM procedures in Egypt, while the father faces charges of complicity.
No specific date has been set for the trial.
If convicted, the doctor could face up to seven years in prison under a 2016 law that criminalises FGM.
Around 90 per cent of women aged over 40 years have been subjected to FGM in Egypt, according to the findings of a government survey conducted in 2014.
In 2016, the Egyptian parliament approved a law toughening penalty against FGM. The law punishes anyone involved in the practice, banned in Egypt since 2007, by five to seven years in prison instead of a previous penalty of a maximum three years of imprisonment.
Parents subjecting their girls to the procedure face a jail term raging from one to three years.
The FGM practice, which includes the removal of all or part of the clitoris, is usually done for local girls before reaching puberty.
Advocates of the centuries-old practice believe it is imperative for women’s chastity allegedly by curbing their sexual desires.
Experts say that severe forms of FGM can lead to life-long psychosexual problems and troubles related to menstruation, sexual intercourse and childbirth.