‘Only 1 in 10 who underwent FGM want it done on daughters’

MUMBAI: Only one in 10 women who have experienced female genital mutilation (FGM) or khatna said they were ‘okay’ with performing the practice on their daughters,

MUMBAI: Only one in 10 women who have experienced female genital mutilation (FGM) or khatna said they were ‘okay’ with performing the practice on their daughters, stated an international online survey conducted by an NGO, on Monday. The survey was mainly carried out on members of the Dawoodi Bohra community that follows this custom.

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Khatna refers to the removal of the prepuce from the genitalia of girls and is mainly practiced by communities in Africa and Asia. The World Health Organisation terms khatna as a violation of human rights and the practice is banned in many European and American countries.

According to Sahiyo, the NGO that conducted the survey, the results highlight that some women want to continue the practice because ‘it’s a social norm’. A member of the NGO said, “Many of the women who have experienced FGC did not want their daughters to be mutilated. It shows a positive change.” As many as 385 women from across the country had participated in the survey of which 80% had experienced FGM. Among these, 66% said they experienced FGM at the age of six or seven.

A 50-year-old doctor from south Mumbai, whose daughter went through khatna when she was seven, said, “It is a tradition in our community and I was answerable to the elders in the family. But, now that my daughter questions me about it, I have no answers,” she said.

She also added that her daughter, who is 20 now, has decided that her children would not be made to go through the ‘tradition’. “I respect her decision. We need more awareness about the possible harms that it can cause if performed by untrained women,” the doctor said.