Man sues wife over kids’ genital mutilation

An Egyptian man has filed a legal complaint against his wife, accusing her of illegally subjecting their two little girls to female genital mutilation (FGM), in the first such a step by a spouse in the country.

The man, from the Upper Egyptian province of Qena, claimed that his wife violated the law and disobeyed him by having the banned procedure performed on the girls, aged 12 and 10.

“My wife did this without my knowledge. She should be punished as the operation has caused bad psychological effects on the children,” the man, identified as Nour Al Deen Hanafi, told a local television station.

A court in Qena, around 650km south of Cairo, has set November 11 for hearing the case. If convicted, the mother could face up to three years in prison.

Egypt has stepped up efforts to curb the age-old practice, believed to be rife in rural and remote areas of the country. In 2016, the parliament approved a law toughening penalty against FGM. Parents subjecting their girls it face jail terms of one to three years.