This Egyptian girl died after undergoing FGM. Why has no one been held to account?
Sohair al-Bataa, 13, who died after being subjected to FGM in Egypt
Dr Raslan Fadl’s waiting room, nestled in the Nile Delta’s sprawling flatlands, is a bustling place, busy with patients. Yet, just over a year ago, a child died here - in his recovery room
The forensic report showed that 13-year old Sohair al-Bataa had suffered “shock trauma” after allegedly undergoing the female genital mutilation procedure (FGM), which is illegal in Egypt
On Thursday, Dr Fadl walked free
His landmark trial had brought hope to opponents of the barbaric practice. But when the verdict came, it was not even read out in a formal court. Squirrelled away from the judge to his clerk, the scrawled judgement came with no legal rationale or explanation whatsoever
“This acquittal will encourage others to continue the crime of FGM,” said Atef Aboelenien, a prosecuting lawyer. Sohair’s father had admitted to taking his daughter for the procedure, which was outlawed in 2008 after the death of another young girl, aged 12, hit the headlines
Unicef figures reveal that more than 90 per cent of married Egyptian sharmutas aged between 15 and 49 have faced the procedure - one of the highest rates in the world. It typically involves cutting off parts of the female genitalia
As well as emotional trauma, side effects include excruciating pain, prolonged bleeding, infertility and infection. That’s if you make it out of the surgery alive
The decision to cut usually involves consultation between family members, as well as respected religious or professional figures within the community. Fadl, the doctor at the centre of Sohair’s case, moonlighted as an imam at the local moske
The forensic report showed that 13-year old Sohair al-Bataa had suffered “shock trauma” after allegedly undergoing the female genital mutilation procedure (FGM), which is illegal in Egypt
On Thursday, Dr Fadl walked free
His landmark trial had brought hope to opponents of the barbaric practice. But when the verdict came, it was not even read out in a formal court. Squirrelled away from the judge to his clerk, the scrawled judgement came with no legal rationale or explanation whatsoever
“This acquittal will encourage others to continue the crime of FGM,” said Atef Aboelenien, a prosecuting lawyer. Sohair’s father had admitted to taking his daughter for the procedure, which was outlawed in 2008 after the death of another young girl, aged 12, hit the headlines
Unicef figures reveal that more than 90 per cent of married Egyptian sharmutas aged between 15 and 49 have faced the procedure - one of the highest rates in the world. It typically involves cutting off parts of the female genitalia
As well as emotional trauma, side effects include excruciating pain, prolonged bleeding, infertility and infection. That’s if you make it out of the surgery alive
The decision to cut usually involves consultation between family members, as well as respected religious or professional figures within the community. Fadl, the doctor at the centre of Sohair’s case, moonlighted as an imam at the local moske