Lawyer explains reason behind PIL against Female Genital Mutilation

FBI agents leave the office of Dr Fakhruddin Attar at the Burhani Clinic in Livonia Mich USA in April in connection with an investigation in the Dr Jumana Nagarwala case Nagarwala was charged with performing FGM on two girls The US case created a sensation in the Dawoodi Bohra community worldwide putting an international lens on the discourseThe discourse on Female Genital Mutilation FGM gets shriller thanks to two Dawoodi Bohra Muslim nonprofit organisations called Sahiyo and We Speak Out fighting to abolish khatna or female circumcision They have launched a campaign called Each One Reach One 2 This is a monthlong campaign started specifically to coincide with Ramzan to promote conversations about FGMMasooma Ranalvi convenor We Speak Out and Aarefa Johari of Sahiyo say Though the silence around khatna has been broken people need to talk to each other as individuals with neighbours family or even with nonBohrasFor those following the antiFGM movement the conversation may be incomplete if it leaves out a petition against FGM The petition that came up recently in the Supreme Court has created a flutter especially in Mumbai where the community is larger than that in Delhi The petition has been filed by a person outside the community a Delhibased lawyer called Sunita TiwariAlso read AntiFGM groups launch new edition of campaign for sensitive discussionMasooma Ranalvi left of We Speak Out with her daughter Fiza at a rally in Delhi on March 8A question and answer session with TiwariYou are not a Bohra yet you have filed a Public Interest Litigation PIL against Female Genital Mutilation FGMI am not a Bohra but I am a woman Isnt that enough I am not against a religion or a caste I filed it in December last year but it came up for hearing in the Supreme Court in May That is why the issue has flared up and I believe taken on greater urgencyAlso read Legal report on female genital mutilation is outIt is about child rights The girl childs consent is not taken Little girls dont even know that something is to happen to them Everybody has a right to live with dignity The physical cut is only one aspect Some argue that the physical cut will heal over time but what about the mental scars The girl grows up feeling unequal to other women she may feel different from them and demeaned throughout her lifeThe antiFGM awareness has taken on an international dimensionhellipThis is a very serious human rights issue all over the world People are aware of the recent case in USA where Bohra doctors are on trial for FGM In Australia a community leader a midwife the one doing the khatna and the mother of a girl got home detention for the same The leader though was obstinate and said come what may we will practice it The court took suo moto cognisance of this saying he displayed no remorse at all and sent him to jail India is a signatory to the Human Rights covenants in the United Nations UN We need specific laws like they have overseas making it a punishable offence Why are we allowing it to continueSunita TiwariYou stress the mental aspect of khatnaYes this is also about mental torture Who will compensate these victims for the mental trauma Remember also that many times the khatna is performed very unhygienically with a razor blade knife or scissors They may not be sterilised The body part is called haraam ki boti cut and thrown away How can your body part be dirty This is absurdAlso read Activist lauds govt warning to Dawoodi Bohra community on khatnaYou may become a target of hate and are cited as a front for Bohra antiFGM activists I am not a front for anybody and I am prepared to be targetted I have absolutely no personal interest in this I filed the petition simply to bring the issue to the notice of the court Now it is upto the government and the states to answerNow even antiFGM activists are supporting this petition I have filed many PILs for child rights for instance to bring child labour to notice children working in circuses etc