VZCZCXRO0738
RR RUEHBC RUEHBZ RUEHDE RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHKUK RUEHMA RUEHMR
RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHROV
DE RUEHEG #0345/01 0381531
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 071531Z FEB 07
FM AMEMBASSY CAIRO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3495
INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE
RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 000345 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ELA, DRL, AND CA/VO 
USAID/MEA FOR DUNN AND CHRISTENSEN AND EMREY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KWMN EG
SUBJECT: ACTIVISTS REFLECT ON IMPACT OF FEMALE GENITAL 
MUTILATION CONFERENCE 
 
Sensitive but unclassified. Not for internet distribution. 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  Several active anti-FGM Embassy contacts 
believe that although the unified public condemnation of FGM 
at a November conference has not produced an official ban on 
the practice, it has raised the level of dialogue on the 
issue.  The public discussion of the generally taboo subject 
of female sexuality, combined with the statements of 
prominent clerics against the practice, may eventually help 
to halt FGM.  End Summary. 
 
------------------------ 
UNIFIED CRITIQUE A FIRST 
------------------------ 
 
¶2.  (U)  Prominent Muslim clerics from throughout the Middle 
East, Asia, and Africa condemned the practice of female 
circumcision at a November 2006 conference organized by the 
German humanitarian group Target entitled "Banning the 
Violation of Women's Bodies," held under the auspices of the 
influential religious institution, Dar Al-Iftah (House of 
Fatwas).  While many religious leaders, including Coptic Pope 
Shenouda, have rejected the practice in the past separately, 
this widely-publicized conference was the first time so many 
spoke out in unison against the custom.  FGM is estimated be 
practiced on 96% of Egyptian Muslim and Christian women in 
varying degrees but generally involves the removal of most or 
all of the clitoris. 
 
¶3. (U)  Egyptian clerics, including the Sheikh of Al-Azhar 
Mohamed El Tantawi, made several public statements against 
the practice.  Tantawi told the press, "From a religious 
point of view, I do not find anything that says that 
circumcision is a must (for women)...female circumcision has 
no legal justification."  The influential Grand Mufti, Ali 
Gomaa, reiterated this stance, adding that he has not 
circumcised his daughter and is considering issuing a fatwa 
saying that FGM is not prescribed by sharia (Note: This fatwa 
has not been issued in the three months since the conference. 
End note.)  Minister of Awqaf (Religious Endowments), Mahmud 
Hamdi Zaqzuq, called female circumcision "an attack on the 
female that has no mental or religious justification in 
Islam," and it "may cause double harm on the body and spirit 
together." 
 
¶4. (SBU)  On January 20, Dr. Amna Nossier, an outspoken 
female scholar from Al-Azhar who attended the conference, 
told econoff that she has advocated a ban on the practice for 
nearly two decades, and is pleased that the conference 
brought attention to the issue.  Nossier, who has conducted 
an extensive analysis of the Quran and Hadith for references 
to the practice, insists that "there is no document 
prescribing circumcision for women."  Nossier said that 
proponents manipulate interpretation of religious texts to 
justify it. 
 
------------------------------------- 
CONFERENCE IMPACT: ACTIVISTS WEIGH IN 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (U)  The exact impact of the statements of religious 
leaders on the practice of FGM will be difficult to quantify 
in the immediate future, but statistics clearly show that 
many ordinary Egyptians believe FGM has a theological basis. 
According to the USAID-sponsored "2005 Egyptian Demographic 
and Health Survey," (DHS) about 60% of those polled believe 
FGM is required by "religious precepts." 
 
¶6. (SBU)  According to Dr. Hanan Mohamed Agwa, who runs the 
Alexandria Family Planning Association, the clerics' 
statements "will have a positive impact" on reducing the 
level of FGM.  Her organization works closely with local 
Muslim and Christian leaders, encouraging them to speak out 
against FGM.  "Overall, I think the numbers are coming down, 
and the clerics' statements are key to raising awareness." 
At least on paper, people are changing their views. 
According to the DHS in 2005, 68% of women wanted the 
practice to continue, as compared to 82% in 1995.  This is in 
part due to decade old efforts of numerous NGOs, including 
First Lady Suzanne Mubarak's National Council for Women 
(NCW), who run broad anti-FGM campaigns at the village level. 
 
 
¶7. (SBU)  Opinions differ in the NGO community on the 
necessity of fully banning FGM.   Ambassador Moushira 
Khattab, Secretary General of the National Council on 
Motherhood and Childhood who consulted with the Mufti prior 
 
CAIRO 00000345  002 OF 002 
 
 
to the conference, believes that a legal ban is the answer. 
"Following the conference we decided we should demand 
legislation to ban the practice fully.  The government, not 
just the religious community, needs to show that it is 100% 
against this practice."   According to the Egyptian Center 
for Human Rights, an NGO that conducts education and outreach 
campaigns against the practice, the legality is irrelevant. 
"This is not about pushing for legislation because it won't 
convince people anyway.  What we need to change are people's 
mentalities," says ECWR.  A 1996 decree from the Ministry of 
Health and Population banned FGM in government hospitals, 
which has created a thriving underground market.  According 
to the 2005 DHS, doctors still perform about 62-72% of 
circumcision, though generally done in private clinics and 
homes. 
 
---------------------------------------- 
CONCEPTS OF TRADITION AND HONOR ALSO KEY 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Tradition and honor also play a considerable role 
in the perpetuation of FGM.  ECWR's representative told 
econoff that while the clerics' statements are certainly a 
step in the right direction, "women are doing this to women 
based greatly on tradition... they need to be convinced why 
this is harmful to do to their daughters if it has been done 
to them."  The concepts of modesty and chastity also play a 
vital role.  According to ECWR, mothers are concerned that, 
without FGM, their daughters could have the stigma of being 
"promiscuous," which will make marriage prospects more 
difficult.  "The concept is that circumcised women, with a 
potentially lower sex drive, will be more faithful to their 
husbands," said the representative.  According to the DHS, 
60% of polled females believe their husbands prefer them to 
be circumcised, and 54% believe it will prevent adultery. 
 
¶9. (SBU)  While official surveys show a very high rate of 
FGM, it is possible that this same concept of chastity may 
lead to over-reporting of the practice.  GOE and WHO 
statistics report a constant rate of 96% FGM over the past 
ten years, per verbal surveys and interviews, but not based 
on medical reports and exams.  Medical exams from Embassy 
Cairo's Immigrant Visa section paint a markedly different 
picture.  A random survey of fifty medical files of females 
over 12 years old, which includes a thorough medical 
screening, shows only about a 30-35% rate of female 
circumcision.    While some of the applicants hail from more 
educated classes, which generally thought to have a slightly 
lower rate of circumcision, this is still a wide gap which 
could indicate that, for modesty's sake, some women do 
respond to oral surveys incorrectly, ashamed of the fact that 
they might be perceived as promiscuous if they admit to being 
uncircumcised. 
 
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COMMENT 
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¶10. (SBU)  While this conference has yet to produce a legal 
or religious ban on FGM, all seem to agree that having 
prominent religious legal scholars condemn this practice is 
an important step in the right direction.  Having male 
leaders publicly discuss and debate anything related to the 
taboo subject of women's sexuality is a notably positive 
development, though as activists have said, there is a long 
way to go before we see a measurable reduction in FGM. 
RICCIARDONE