Centre’s stand on FGM shocks Bohras

The Central government has told the Supreme Court that the practice of female genital mutilation is a crime under existing laws. This has come as a surprise to the Dawoodi Bohra community which has been practicing this ritual since ages.

Attorney General K.K. Venugopal has told the Supreme Court that it is a crime which is punishable with imprisonment of seven years under the existing law.

The plea against FGM was made by Adv. Sunita Tihar who has said that it must be declared illegal and inhuman.

Presently, only the Dawoodi Bohra community members are practicing this ritual. In U.S., and U,K too, it has been declared illegal.

According to sources in the community, “The illegal declaration in these countries has forced the community to state in community sermons that they can opt for FGM in those countries where it was not illegal. Due to this reason, a large number of non-resident Indians came to various cities and towns of India for this purpose.”

Earlier FGM or khatna as it is called was carried out by midwives but now the surgical process is done by doctors. With the Centre stating that it is a crime, there is going to be a major risk for doctors who carry out the female genital mutilation. The Dawoodi Bohra community representatives refused to comment on the subject.

Activist Masooma Ranalvi, from the Bohra community herself, has been spearheading awareness among the women in the community to end FGM. Ranalvi has been creating awareness with her online petition. Said Ranalvi, “The petition in the Supreme Court has come out with a clear stand of the government. India is a signatory to the UN Convention on Rights of Child and the practice being ‘inhuman’ violates the girl’s child rights under the Constitution.”

Earlier, senior counsel Anand, appearing for the petitioner submitted that Kerala and Telangana governments have started investigating about this practice prevalent there. Taking note of this submission, the bench issued notice seeking their response. The court had earlier issued notices to Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Delhi.

It was submitted that under the current laws, a complaint can be registered under IPC Section 324/326 for causing grievous hurt or assault but there are no specific provisions that deal with such gender specific violence. Further under Section 3 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, children are protected from any sort of penetrative assault using an object. It was argued that there should be provisions against people who aid and abet such practices. The bench posted the matter for further hearing on July 9.