As more families report FGM incidents in Egypt, advocacy intensifies, and a new bill seeks to increase penalties

According to recent data released by Egypt’s National Council for Women (NCW) and the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM) during the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence in 2020, the number of girls and mothers reporting actual or potential incidents of female genital mutilation (FGM) reached 1618 reports between June 2019 and December 2020. In 2005, when the Child Helpline was first established, there were 240 reported incidents.

The rise in the number of reported cases of FGM is seen as a promising sign that the country’s efforts to raise awareness is starting to work.

“Egypt will not accept violence against women and girls. Backed by a strong political will, the government is intensifying efforts to seek parliament approval for increasing penalties on perpetrators of this crime,” says H.E. Maya Morsy, President of the NCW and Co-chair of the National Committee for Eradication of FGM. “We are reaping the fruits of two years of extensive awareness around FGM, which has led to an increased number of families and medical personnel come forward and report it.”

Egypt has a multi-layered strategy to end FGM in the country, which includes improved data on the prevalence of this harmful practice and research to understand its root causes and perceptions. This began with the Egypt Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) in 2014 and there are plans to roll out additional prevalence studies this year.

Although the DHS revealed that 92 percent of ever-married Egyptian women aged 15–49 had undergone FGM (or cutting), there has been a noticeable decline among younger women, with rates among girls aged 15–19 dropping from 97 percent in 1985 to 70 percent in 2015.

Contributing legislative changes include a law criminalizing FGM in 2008, strengthened penalties under the Criminal Code in 2016, and the Egyptian Cabinet just approved a bill that is now before Parliament to further increase penalties proposed by the National Committee for Eradication of FGM – to a minimum of five and a maximum of 20 years in prison for doctors or nurses who perform FGM.

The ‘National Strategy for the Empowerment of Egyptian Women 2030,’ adopted in 2017 by President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, vows to eliminate FGM under its protection pillar. And in May 2019, the NCW and the NCCM launched a National Committee for Eliminating FGM, which includes representatives of all concerned ministries, religious and judicial bodies, civil society, and development partners.

Awareness-raising has also been key, with community mobilization and grass-roots initiatives engaging civil society organizations, religious and opinion leaders. UN Women, UNFPA, and other development partners contributed to a national ‘mega awareness campaign’ in June and July 2020, initially launched on the National Day to End FGM, which aimed to inform Egyptian families about the consequences of this harmful practice, including the legal penalties and official channels of reporting (including the government-managed Child Helpline and the Women’s Complaints Office helpline). The door-to-door campaign, while observing COVID-19 safety and prevention measures, reached at least 14 million Egyptian women, men, and children across the country’s 27 governorates to mitigate the increased risk of FGM due to the socio-economic fallouts of the COVID-19 pandemic. It also informed the public about the fatwa [legal ruling on points of Islamic law] from the Al Azhar institution and the Coptic Church that confirm that FGM is not associated with any religion and is considered sinful. Furthermore, activities coordinated by the National Taskforce for Eradication of FGM have reached 74 million Egyptians since its establishment.