Stop the Medicalization of FGM

The crime of FGM comes on top of the crimes that women and girls suffers from in Egypt, as Egypt has one of the highest rates of FGM in the world. Despite the efforts of the governmental institutions during the past two decades in combating FGM, the rates of FGM are still very high, which do not align with the size of human and financial resources allocated for combating this crime. Egypt also faces the challenge of the medicalization of FGM, as 72% of the cases of FGM in Egypt have been done by doctors or medical health providers, according to the 2014 Population Health Survey. This phenomenon has been known as the medicalization of FGM. Therefore, Tadwein Center for Gender Studies launched a campaign entitled “Stop the Medicalization of FGM” during the Sixteen Days of Activism Against All Forms of Violence Against Women in 2019. This campaign aimed to shed the light on the medicalization of FGM crime and to raise the doctors’ awareness and knowledge about the issue.