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The Bohra faith is followed by 12 million people worldwide and is a sect of Shia Islam that originated in Yemen Representational PictureAFPA firstofitskind study released yesterday in Delhi by MP Shashi Tharoor on female genital mutilation and cutting FGMC among Bohras in India has revealed the mental and physical trauma that women face while practising the tradition While 97 per cent of the 83 women surveyed recalled the experience as painful 33 per cent claimed it had negatively impacted their sexual life and 10 per cent reported of having developed urinary problems afterThe study titled The Clitoral Hood a Contested Site Khafz or FGMC in India was undertaken by Lakshmi Anantnarayan Shaban Diler and Natasha Menon in collaboration with WeSpeakOut the largest survivorled movement to end the practice among Bohras and Nari Samta Manch a trust for gender equalityMasooma Ranalvi founder WeSpeakOutGo figureThe team has called the findings a fitting reply to the Ministry of Women and Child Development which in its affidavit to the Supreme Court in December 2017 mdash following a petition to ban the practice mdash had claimed that there was no official data to support the existence of FGMC in India The study funded by Maharashtra Foundation a New Yorkbased nonprofit that promotes economic empowerment and social justice and AmplifyChange which among other issues works against sexual and genderbased violence included responses from 94 participants of which 83 were women and 11 menData indicated that 81 women in the sample had been subjected to khafz also called khatna or FGM While most recalled it as a traumatic experience 37 per cent participants supported it 43 per cent opposed it 16 per cent changed their mind from pro to anti and 4 per cent remained undecidedLakshmi Anantnarayan writer of the studyThis is the firstever qualitative research study of its kind Nothing like this has been done before said Masooma Ranalvi founder WeSpeakOut Indian participants for the study were selected from 12 locations across five states mdash Gujarat Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Rajasthan and Kerala Additionally Bohra expatriates from three countries mdash Canada United Arab Emirates and the United States of America mdash also participated in the study The sample included traditional circumcisers healthcare professionals and teachersThe team says it took care to cover a wide socioeconomic bracket diverse geographical locations including metropolises small towns and medium cities and covered the Reformists Conformists Alvi Bohras etcKey findingsThe 59page report reveals startling statistics and trends regarding the practice in India According to the report 75 per cent of all women who participated in the study sample said their daughters were also subjected to FGMC Further 97 per cent women who had undergone khatna recalled the experience from childhood as painful While most women said they suffered immediate pain from the procedure only two women said they did not experience any immediate or longterm impact Despite sex being a taboo subject approximately 33 per cent of the women subjected to FGMC in the study admitted that it had negatively impacted their sexual lifeLow sex drive inability to experience sexual pleasure difficulty in trusting partners and oversensitivity in the clitoral area were some of the problems they identified Nearly 10 per cent of the women who had undergone the procedure from the current study specifically mentioned urinary problems recurring UTI and burning Respondents said they had felt fear anxiety shame anger depression low selfesteem and betrayal of trust following khatnaKhatna existsThe report which is rich in honest narratives from survivors including an eightyearold girl who underwent FGMC last year and was stitched up 12 hours after a botchedup procedure was undertaken following an affidavit submitted by the Ministry of Women and Child Developments to the apex court which stated that there was no data by the National Crime Records Bureau to support its practice or existence in IndiaThe ministrys affidavit was in response to a petition by advocate Sunita Tiwari seeking a ban on the practice that some girls within the Bohra community are subjected to The first step is to declare it as a crime only then will government bodies like NCRB carry out further research said Ranalvi Anyone who doubts or denies the existence of FGMC in India must read this report she addedMore than just a nickSupporters of the practice in India claim that the practice is not FGMC because it is just a nick on the clitoral hood which is just useless skin But the writer of the study Anantnarayan who is an independent researcher with a masters in social work and sustainable international development said Most women subjected to khatna in India undergo type 1 FGMC or clitoridectomy partial or total removal of the clitoral hood and very few younger women may be subjected to type 4 FGMC pricking piercing cauterisationDr Sujaat Vali gynaecologist who observed FGMC in 20 Bohra patients for the report also confirmed that type 1 FGMC is the predominant practice in India but said it was more than just a nick as otherwise presumed Given that most girls are cut at age seven without anaesthesia by traditional cutters and the procedure happens in a minute or two the operator does not get enough time to figure out the separation between the clitoris and the skin So usually they end up cutting the clitoris along with the skin that covers it Vali pointed out in the studyFGM among Bohras in India became a subject of heated debate when two international legal cases against practising Bohras in Australia and the US came to light The protesters hope to end the practice through legal reform in India and by raising community awareness about the psychological impact of the tradition on women Unfortunately few nationallevel studies have been conducted and published often giving the supporters the right to cite lack of evidence about the impact of FGMC in India to argue that it is not harmful