Genital Mutilation Ban Still Enforced

Egyptian health authorities will continue to enforce a ban on the controversial practice known by its supporters as female circumcision despite a court ruling last month that struck down the prohibition, Health Minister Ismail Salaam said in comments published in Cairo. Salaam said in remarks published in the government newspaper Al Akhbar that his ministry has filed an appeal with Egypt’s Supreme Administrative Court challenging last month’s decision by a mid-level administrative court, which ruled in a case brought by Islamic fundamentalists that Salaam had overstepped his authority in barring medical professionals from performing the operation. The procedure, considered mutilation by many, typically involves the full or partial removal of the clitoris and labia of pre-pubescent girls.