SC seeks response on petition against female circumcision

NEWDELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday sought the views of the Centre and four states in response to a petition seeking a ban on female circumcision, a practice followed by a Muslim sect which activists say violates the fundamental rights of women.

A bench headed by chief justice JS Khehar issued notices to Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Delhi where the practice is more prevalent among the Dawoodi Bohras, a Shia Muslim sect. The court did not set a time frame for the responses by the Centre and the states.

Female genital mutilation (FGM) involves cutting off the clitoral head, which many in the community believe makes women amorous and leads them to infidelity. The circumcision, called ‘khatna’, is done at a young age, mostly by midwives in unhygienic conditions.

The court order comes amid growing clamour among Muslim women for banning the practice of triple talaq which allows men to divorce their wives by simply uttering the word talaq three times.

The government has also pushed for banning the practice which it says infringes on the rights of Muslim women.

In her petition against FGM, advocate Sunita Tiwari said there should be law against the practice as it was violative of human and child rights.

“...The practice...also amounts to causing inequality between the sexes and constitutes discrimination against women...It amounts to serious violation of the rights of children as even minors have a right of security of person, right to privacy, bodily integrity and the freedom from cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment,” the petition said.

She said it causes pain during menstruation and sexual intercourse, loss of libido and even pain during urination.

“It can be categorised as violence against women.”