Can violation of bodily integrity be part of religion & its practice?
SC questions ritual of female genital mutilation among a Muslim sect
The Supreme Court has questioned the practice of female genital mutilation of minor girls in the Dawoodi Bohra Muslim community, saying it violates the bodily "integrity" of a girl child.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra was told by Attorney General K K Venugopal, representing the Centre, that the practice causes irreparable harm to girl children and needed to be banned.
He told the bench, which also had Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, that countries like the USA, the United Kingdom, Australia and around 27 African countries have banned this practice.
Senior advocate A M Singhvi, appearing for a Muslim group, said the matter be referred to a constitution bench as it pertained to the issue of essential practice of the religion which needed to be examined.
"Why and how the bodily integrity of an individual can be part of the religion and its essential practice," the bench asked, adding the practice violated the "integrity" of a girl child's body.
Why anybody else should have any control over the genitals of an individual," it said.
During the brief hearing, Venugopal reiterated the Centre's stand and said that the practice violated various fundamental rights of the girl child and, moreover, such kind of genital mutilation has serious repercussions on their health.
Singhvi, on the other hand, referred to the practice of male circumcision (khatna) in Islam and said that it has been
allowed in all countries and this is the accepted religious practice and sought adjournment of the hearing. The bench has now fixed the PIL filed by lawyer Sunita Tiwari on the issue for hearing on July 16. Earlier, the apex court had ordered Kerala and Telangana to be made parties to a PIL that had challenged the practice of female genital mutilation of minor girls of the Dawoodi Bohra Muslim community. The court ordered that states like Kerala and Telangana, where Bohra Muslim community reside, should also be made parties to the litigation and issued notice to them as well. The states which are already party to the case are Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Union Territory Delhi.
Tiwari, in her plea, has sought a direction to the Centre and the states to "impose a complete ban on the inhuman practice" of 'khatna' or "female genital mutilation" throughout the country.
The plea has sought a direction to make it an offence on which the law enforcement agencies can take cognisance on their own. It has also sought to make the offence "non-compoundable and nonbailable" with provision for harsh punishment.
The ministries of Law and Justice, Social Justice and Empowerment have also been made parties to the plea which referred to various conventions of the United Nations, to which India is a signatory. The plea also said that the practice caused "permanent disfiguration to the body of a girl child". Also, since it is carried out on minors, it amounts to a serious violation of the rights of children.
The act is construed as a ritual and performed on every girl child within the Dawoodi Bohra religious community without any medical reason and does not have any reference in the Quran, it has been pointed out. There is no law in India banning it or declaring it illegal.