KENYA: 30 boys cut by force

How is this not sexual abuse?


Daily Nation (Kenya)
April 22, 2015

Anxiety in Eldoret after NGO ‘forcibly’ circumcises 30 boys

by Copperfield Lagat
Anxiety has gripped Eldoret in Uasin Gishu after an estimated 30 children were forcibly circumcised by a non-governmental organization based in Kisumu and which has a clinic in Eldoret.

The Impact Research Development Organisation is alleged to have performed the circumcision on the school-going children last week in various parts of Eldoret, when learners came home for the April holiday.

The mood was tense Wednesday evening at Kapsoya Estate as mothers wailed uncontrollably after realising that their sons, some as young as six years old, were circumcised by the organisation without their consent.

Lucy Ekwong said she had gone to town but did not find her two sons upon arriving home in the evening.

She would later find out that they were nursing pains at a Sudanese neighbour’s house.

“I had gone to town but when I came back in the evening, my two children, aged six and eight were in my neighbour’s house.

LURED WITH SWEETS
“The young one said they were offered sweets and taken to a clinic in Langas where many boys were circumcised,” the bitter mother said.

“I was shocked but immediately took up to caring for them. I later talked to a police officer who denied knowing of such an activity.

“I am so confused because the surgery itself is not according to the requirements of the Kalenjin traditions.

“My people in the village, upon learning of that, are accusing me of doing it on my sons,” said Ms Ekwong.

Some of the children were from the South Sudan Nuer community which does not perform circumcision on their boys.

The community regards the act of circumcision as a taboo and anyone conducting it is banished.
Only two children, who were from Islamic Center, were Kalenjins while close to 30 others were those from South Sudan.

A Sudanese national, Madol Anyief said: “Our Dinka Bor community does not perform circumcision. Anyone who is circumcised is banished and disowned.

“It is said these people were going around saying the government has directed circumcision but we have later been assured that the county has no such programme,” Anyief said, adding that she did not question much because she was a foreigner and feared for her life.

According to reports corroborated by the circumcised boys, sweets were used by people who were in cars to lure them.

MORE THAN A HUNDRED
One of them said they were more than a hundred only that some were hiding in their homes.
Uasin Gishu County’s Chief Officer for Health Mr Silas Boit said the revelation came during a normal supervision at Kapsoya Health Centre on Tuesday when they met a young boy who was walking in pain.

“We asked further and we were told that there was a forceful circumcision that the NGO had conducted. The boy had a urinal retention complication due to the surgery,” Mr Boit said.
The health officer said they went round the estate and got over 30 other boys in pain in their various homes.

Some who were suspected to be developing infections were referred to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital for medication.

Mr Boit said police and the county officials managed to arrest three officers from the NGO who were booked at Kapsoya Police Post.

Mr Boit said: “We were shocked after realising that the car in which the suspects had been arrested was released and was going around collecting the boys to ferry them to hospital,” Boit said.

He added that the OCS had promised to take the suspects to court.

Meanwhile, parents have been urged to keep a close watch on their children.

FLORIDA: Injunction against 4 1/2 year old's genital cutting

WSBTV (Florida)
April 14, 2015

Woman filed federal suit to block son’s circumcision

by Jane Musgrave WEST PALM BEACH —
A Boynton Beach, Florida, woman who went into hiding with her 4 1/2-year-old son rather than abide by a judge’s order to have him circumcised has filed a lawsuit in federal court, claiming a forced circumcision would violate her son’s constitutional rights.

In the lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court, Heather Hironimus claims there is no medical justification to circumcise her son, identified as C.R.N.H., and many legal and medical reasons not to do it.

“(The) application of Florida law to impose unnecessary, elective, cosmetic circumcision upon C.R.N.H. at the age of 4 1/2 years old for no religious reason violates (the boy’s) fundamental right to privacy and bodily integrity secured by the due process clause of the 14th Amendment to the United States,” her attorney Thomas Hunker wrote.

Hunker also claims the circumcision, sought by the boy’s father, constitutes “assault, aggravated assault, battery and aggravated battery.” It would cause irreparable psychological damage and provide few health benefits, Hunker says in the suit to be heard by U.S. District Judge Kenneth Marra.

Heather Hironimus, 30, and her son have been in hiding since last month when Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Jeffrey Gillen ordered her to bring her son to court to turn him over to the boy’s father, Dennis Nebus. When she didn’t appear at the hearing, Gillen signed a warrant for her arrest.

The federal lawsuit is the latest volley Hironimus has fired in the long-running legal fight to block the circumcision.

Three months after the boy was born in 2010, Nebus, 47, of Boca Raton, filed suit to establish his parental rights. In 2012, Hironimus signed a parenting agreement, allowing Nebus to have the boy circumcised as long as he paid for it. Soon after, she said she had second thoughts about allowing her son to undergo the procedure.

She launched a court battle and one on social media seeking to persuade Gillen not to enforce the agreement. After various court hearings, Gillen in May ruled that the agreement trumped her reservations. The 4th District Court of Appeal upheld his decision without comment.

Protests by those who identify themselves as “intactivists" have been held throughout the county to support Hironimus’ efforts to spare her son from circumcision.

Earlier story

MIAMI: Proposed cutting of 4-year-old spurs protests

Yahoo! News
January 20, 2015

Fla. boy's circumcision spurs lengthy legal battle, protests

By Matt Sedensky

BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. (AP) — An estranged Florida couple's fight over whether to circumcise their son has become a rallying cry for those who denounce the procedure as barbaric.

The dispute between Heather Hironimus, the mother opposing circumcision, and Dennis Nebus, the father favoring it, has sparked a prolonged court battle, protests and the rapt attention of a movement of self-proclaimed "intactivists."

Judges have ruled in favor of the father, meaning the surgery is likely to happen, but the possible closure of the legal chapter has done little to mute the case's most passionate followers. Though many [other people] still choose to remove their sons' foreskins at the suggestion of a doctor, for religious or cultural reasons, or out of habit, opponents have been bolstered by the overall waning popularity of circumcision, and the fact this fight has gone on so long the boy at its center is now 4 years old.

"I couldn't speak when I was cut, but I can speak now," said Thomas Frederiksen, a 39-year-old machinist who traveled from Orlando to protest, wearing a red beret and "I (Heart) My Foreskin" T-shirt and speaking breathlessly about the issue.

Volumes of court filings tell the story: Hironimus and Nebus had a six-month relationship that resulted in a pregnancy, the birth of a boy named Chase, and a fight over nearly everything since. Nebus sued to prove his paternity and to get partial custody of the boy and the couple whittled out a parenting plan outlining everything from his surname to his legal address, to whom he calls mommy or daddy and, notably, what becomes of his penis.

In that document, the circumcision of the child was agreed to by both parents. When it came time to schedule the procedure, though, the mother resisted, having researched the subject further. The matter wound its way through circuit court, which ruled in Nebus' favor, then to the Fourth District Court of Appeal, which refused to overturn the lower court's ruling. Hironimus could ask for a rehearing in the appellate court, but has made no further legal filings.

"Just the normal thing to do," the father said of circumcision, according to the court files. "To me, it's not worth it to put my son's life at risk for a cosmetic procedure," the mother said.

The parents entered an agreement on Dec. 24 to not talk to the press and to avoid any other campaigns or actions that might exploit the child. There is no indication in the court documents the circumcision is being done for religious reasons. The attorney that had represented the mother, who lives in Boynton Beach, is no longer being retained and has not been replaced, the lawyer's office said. The attorney for the father, who lives in Boca Raton, did not respond to requests for comment.

Though circumcision rates have fallen in the U.S., a majority of boys still undergo the removal of their foreskin. ... Meantime, a bubbling anti-circumcision movement has grown.

They have made the boy at the center of this case their cause celebre, as evidenced by one of several small sidewalk protests here featuring signs including "Let Chase Keep His Foreskin," ''Don't Cut Chase's Penis," ''Don't You Dare Circumcise Chase!" and "Ethics 101: No Disease, No Consent, No Circumcision." Some passing motorists honked or gave gestures of support; some looked puzzled or shouted "Who's Chase?"

Jonathan Friedman, 27, who organized the demonstration as part of his "Saving Chase" campaign, traveled from Chicago for the event and makes anti-circumcision advocacy the focus of his life. He wore a "Children Never Forget Trauma" T-shirt and said he became vocal on the issue when he realized the harm of his own circumcision, which he blames for bleeding, chafing and painful erections.

What has driven supporters to his side, Friedman says, is the age of the boy in this case.

"People are not OK with a 4-year-old boy being circumcised — a conscious, articulate boy. That's just not OK," Friedman said. "Not everyone is against circumcisions, but I think everyone is against a 4-year-old's circumcision."

...

Gathered quietly near the office of a pediatric urologist who examined the boy and who may be chosen for the surgery, [the protesters] said the circumcision should be put off until adulthood, when the patient could decide for himself. To those who view the procedure as minor, they gave a list of reasons they believe shows it is not — from loss of sensation to unseen psychological damage.

"They think it's just a little snip and it's not," said Jennifer Blanchard, 34, of Miami. "It's a big deal."

Earlierstory

TANZANIA: Girls cut after leaving refuge - one father arrested

Tanzania Daily News
January  19,2015

Tanzania: Police Confirm Single Arrest Over Forced FGM in Tarime

By Mugini Jacob Tarime — POLICE have arrested a man here for allegedly forcing her daughter to undergo female genital mutilation (FGM) at a village in Tarime, Mara Region .

The single arrest came in the wake of shocing reports that dozens of girls who escaped the cut and camped at Termination of Female Genital Mutilation(TFGM) Masanga Centre in the critical months of November and December when FGM was widely conducted in area, are now being subjected to forced circumcision.

More than 600 most school girls refused the cut and sought shelter at the rescue centre, which operates under the Roman Catholic Church of Musoma Diocese with the support of several partners, including United Nations Population Fund(UNFPA) and Children's Dignity Forum(CDF), a nongovernmental organisation, which has of late enhanced the battle against FGM in the area.

... The girls left the centre early this month in a colourful function officiated by Minister for Labour and Employment, Ms Gaudensia Kabaka.

Tanzania Media Women's Association (TAMWA) Executive Director Ms Valerie Msoka described the report about the girl who was forcibly cut in Tarime as "shocking and humiliation of the highest order".

She called for immediate new effective measures that will help to save girls from the outdated harmful culture. FGM is illegal according to the law. "
...

KENYA: Wife sends whole village to publicly cut husband

Diaspora Messenger (Kenya)
January 17, 2015

Wife sends a whole village to circumcise her husband in broad daylight

A man was forcefully circumcised in Chwele Market Bungoma county after his wife reported him to the elders.

A 39-year-old man woke up to the shock of his life when he found thousands of people gathered outside his house waiting to circumcise him.

The father of 11 is said to have had an argument with his wife when she decided to go and expose him to the elders on his state of manhood.

He was drugged out of his house and circumcised in front of a large multitude in Chwele market.

He was later awarded gifts and is expected to stay in isolation for four months before elders teach him on how to be a man, according to the Bukusu culture.

Social media was awash with critics some condemning the act while other praised the act under #GoCutMyHusband

TANZANIA: 120 girls flee cutting

Tanzania Daily News
December 15, 2014

Tanzania: More Than 100 Girls Flee From 'Knife' in Mara

by Mugini Jacob
Mugumu — NEARLY 120 girls have camped at a new safe house in Mugumu Town in Serengeti District after fleeing forced circumcision from different Mara Region villages.

"The number was 117 by Saturday and most of the girls have been badly beaten and injured for refusing to be circumcised", the Coordinator of the Serengeti We Can Live Without HIV/AIDS, Gender Based Violence (GBV) and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) project, which is run by the Mara Diocese of the Anglican Church of Tanzania, Ms Rhobi Samweli, said.

The girls started fleeing their homes early this month when the on-going female genital mutilation (FGM) season kicked off in various parts of Mara Region.

"The girls we have here are coming from villages in Tarime, Serengeti and Butiama districts. We are feeding them but some come without even clothes, so we had to buy them clothes", Ms Rhobi said.
Those who were received with injuries were also taken to Mugumu District Designated Hospital for treatment, according to the official.

According to Ms Rhobi , the Police Force, through its gender desk, is showing good cooperation in protecting the girls. Establishment of the new safe house in Mugumu is designed to address the problem of FGM and other forms of GBV acts in Serengeti District.

It is part of the outcome of an ambitious anti-GBV, FGM and HIV/ AIDS implemented in the district under the sponsorship of Rapid Fund Envelope (RFE) in recent years.
...

KENYA: Man, 45, forcibly circumcised

Madness indeed


Kenya Daly Post
November 24, 2014

This madness of forceful circumcision is back….

45 year old undergoes the cut by force in Bungoma
A 45 year old man from Sirisia, Bungoma County, was ambushed by residents of Mayekwe village yesterday and circumcised by force.

Residents said that Wilson Musa escaped the cut some years back and went to start a new life at Kapcherop village where he married a wife and had come back to his home hoping that they had forgotten.

A resident who requested not to be identified said that the father of five pretended to have been circumcised but unfortunately had a quarrel with his wife, Janet Nanjala, who in the process of hurling insults revealed his secret.

Idle locals quickly called a traditional doctor and forcefully led Musa to the river where he was circumcised.

Musa thanked neighbors saying that for a long time, he had feared the knife adding that he is glad because he is now a real man. [Stockholm syndrome]

TOBAGO: Mother wants answers about circumcision botch

TT online (Triindad & Tobago)
November 19, 2014

Tobago mom wants answers after botched circumcision

by
A Tobago woman is calling on THA Health Secretary Claudia Groome-Duke and Medical Chief of Staff at the Scarborough General Hospital, Dr. Nathaniel Duke, to provide her with an update on a botched circumcision on her son which took place 17 months ago.

Mrs. Jessica Roberts explained that she and her husband took their then four year old son to the Scarborough General Hospital to have a planned circumcision done.

However, approximately 15 minutes into the surgery, they heard the little boy screaming and went to see what was happening.

"To my surprise, when I pushed the door and went in to ask if they were ready for me, it was shocking to see that my son, apparently came out of the circumcision before time. Apparently the anesthesia wore off and the doctors were trying to dress the area while he was fully awake."

Mrs. Roberts recalled that doctors told her she had to leave the room and when she saw her son 20 minutes later, he was bleeding uncontrollably.

The doctors told her that the boy would have to be sedated again for them to operate further.
Eventually the area was stitched but Mrs. Roberts questioned whether interns or junior doctors operated on her son since the senior doctor was absent.

"When Dr. Bell came in, he told us that the problem was our son, he was not keeping himself still when he was actually supposed to be sedated to do it. [Blame the victim! What four-year-old would keep still for that?] The doctor who stitched up our son came to us and said, you know what, he apologised and he said it was not his fault, an error was made and everyone makes mistakes."

... the boy's parents made a complaint to the THA Secretary of Health and Social Services and the Medical Chief of Staff.

Mrs. Roberts said she was assured by Secretary Groome-Duke that the names of all doctors involved would be revealed and that an investigation would be conducted.

She said she has not heard from either Secretary Groome-Duke or Dr. Duke up to this day.
...

For now, her son remains traumatised by the incident since no counseling was provided for him. His parents said he is afraid of even using a pair of scissors.

... THA Health and Social Services Secretary Claudia Groome-Duke said ... a Therapeutic Counselor has been called in to provide counseling to the little boy.

Mrs. Groome-Duke promised to keep in close contact ... /p>

PHILIPPINES: 11-year-old forcibly circumcised, videoed

Zamboanga Today (Philippines)
November 15, 2014

Boy circumcised against his will

by Nonong Santiago
An 11-year-old boy complained against four jobless invividuals who forcibly circumcised him against his will last November 7, 2014 in Barangay Canelar this city.

The boy, name withheld, identified the four suspects as Tony Carpio, 46; Noel Cabato, 32; Marlon Maceda, 25; and Manuel Mortera, 21.

He said the suspects all are residents of Acapulco Drive, Barangay Canelar.

The victim, a grade 3 pupil of Canelar Elementary School, said two of the four suspects tied the boy’s hands with a towel while Carpio cut his penis with a “Gillete” blade while Mortera was videoing the event using his cellphone. [...for sale to circumfetishists?]

His auntie Jocelyn Paraiso went to complain to kagawad [Counciller] Jesus Balan and immediately the suspects were hauled by the village leaders to the barangay [district] hall for confrontation.

The suspects agreed to pay the medical expenses incurred at the hospital and asked forgiveness to the boy’s auntie.

Paraiso said she is still contemplating whether to file the case in court against the four suspects, who are his neighbors.

NAIROBI: More than six men forcibly circumcised

The Standard (Kenya)
January 27, 2014

Eldoret artisan drugged, forcefully circumcised by people he knows

by Kevin Tunoi
UASIN GISHU: Police in Eldoret have launched a manhunt for six suspects and a medical practitioner who forcefully circumcised a man on Sunday at a private clinic in Peris area.

The Jua Kali artisan alleges that he was kidnapped and drugged by men known to him before he was forcefully cut.

The 21 year old victim further stated that more than six other men have undergone the involuntary procedure but have not reported to the police because they feel ashamed.

The victim noted that the exercise has been ongoing for quite a long time unabated in Kimumu area where a squad has been forcefully targeting uncircumcised males.

The man narrated that he had just finished his welding job and was walking with a friend when he was forcefully bundled into a pick-up truck belonging to one of the perpetrators.

“I had just seen off my friend and was heading home when I was ambushed by the men who took me to the clinic for the cut,” he explained.

The victim said he attempted to fight off the attackers even biting some of the men but it was in vain as they overpowered him.

He stated that on reaching the medical facility he was held down and the medical practitioner administered an unknown injection.

“The men ordered me to undress and when I declined they held me down and the doctor injected me then I lost consciousness and when I came to I had been circumcised,” he said.

The victim expressed fears of having been infected because he does not know if the procedure was conducted using sterile equipment.

Uasin Gishu Jua Kali artisans’ chairman who took the victim to hospital before reporting the matter to the police stated that the perpetrators had infringed the rights of the victim.

...

The artisans’ chairman noted that the health of the victim could be at risk because he may have contracted some diseases.

Eldoret East OCPD Nelson Taliti confirmed ... that they are hunting for the suspects.

...

He added that they are continuing with investigation and further charges could be preferred against the accused persons.

MELBOURNE: 14-year-old hospitalised after backyard circumcision

the Herald Sun (Melbourne)
January 26, 2014

DHS wants teen returned to mum who held him down while circumcised by witchdoctor

by Shannon Deery
THE Department of Human Services is trying to force a 14-year-old boy who was pinned down by his mother while he was forcibly circumcised by an international witchdoctor to return to live with her.

The teen remained conscious throughout the procedure.

The boy has told authorities he was one of 13 young boys across Melbourne to experience similar backyard procedures by the visiting witchdoctor on Boxing Day, in line with his mother's South Pacific culture.

The boy was rushed to the Royal Children's Hospital in the days after the circumcision because of complications with his recovery.

The boy was in so much pain doctors had to anaesthetise him so they could remove bandaging from his genitalia.

The boy was removed from his mother's care under a protection order, but the Department of Human Services yesterday applied to have the order withdrawn.

The move is being opposed by the boy's father, who made a complaint to police after learning about the procedure.

It is believed the boy's siblings were home at the time and might have witnessed the operation.

Authorities have been told the boys' families paid for the witchdoctor's flights to and from Melbourne, and for each of the circumcisions he performed.

It is believed he performed the operations in suburbs including Springvale, Werribee and Point Cook.
The witchdoctor is believed to visit Melbourne regularly to perform the procedures for the small community who believe the circumcision of boys is an important rite of passage that marks them as men.

In the boy's family's country of origin, the culturally significant milestone is performed in hospital and paid for by the government.

Victorian Opposition spokeswoman for children Jenny Mikakos called on the State Government to explain if this had happened before and if it could happen again.

"How can the department allow this invasive procedure to occur when one parent and the child himself are vehemently against it?" Ms Mikakos said.

Australasian Institute for Genital Autonomy chairman Paul Mason called for moves to ban circumcision.

"In this instance it seems to have been a cultural practice, and many cultures have unnecessary genital surgery,'' Mr Mason said.

"In this country we've outlawed female circumcision, but for some reason it's still OK to circumcise a boy. I can't see why it's better to cut a boy than to cut a girl. There's no logic.''

Mr Mason said he was shocked the procedure would be carried out in backyards, saying the risk of complications existed at the best hospitals in the world.

HS would not comment as the matter is before the courts.

ISRAEL: Court stays forced circumcision

Haaretz
December 17, 2013

Israel's top court halts rabbinical decree forcing woman to circumcise son

Israel's Supreme Court issued an temporary injunction freezing a rabbinical court's recent decree ordering a woman to circumcise her year-old son against her wish.

Acceding to the woman's appeal, Judge Yoram Danziger halted the decision and ordered the father to provide his response by January 2. The Supreme Rabbinical Court and Netanya's Regional Rabbinical Court will be issued a week later.

There is no law in Israel making circumcision obligatory for Jews, but a rabbinical court that was presiding over the woman's divorce case ruled that she must fulfil her husband's wish in the matter.
It fined her 500 shekels ($142) a day until she did so.

In their ruling last month, the presiding rabbis said the woman was using her refusal to circumcise her son as leverage against her husband.

The couple began divorce proceedings when the baby was one month old and in the time that has passed, the ruling said, the woman has been standing in the way of her husband, who wants to fulfil one of the most important Jewish edicts.

But the mother says circumcision is tantamount to physical abuse. "I don't believe in religious coercion," she told Channel 2 News last month, facing away from the camera so her identity was not revealed.

Earlier story

INDIA: Orphanage case falls through - parents' gave "verbal" consent

The Shillong Times (India)
December 8, 2013

Circumcision case deadlock

SHILLONG: The inability of the police to act on the alleged circumcision case in NEIGRIHMS [the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Science], following the refusal of the parents of the 11 boys to file an FIR in this regard has put this case in a deadlock with the District Administration proposing to discuss the matter with the East Khasi Hills Superintendent of Police.

In a magisterial report on the case which was submitted to the State Government recently, the magistrate has mentioned that the consent of the parents was not taken by the Meherbaan Orphanage in Laban prior to the circumcision.

Whereas, the police mentioned that the case could not go ahead as the parents themselves had refused to lodge a complaint in this regard stating that they had embraced Islam few years back.

“I have already forwarded the report to the Police and let the SP take a call on this,” East Khasi Hills Deputy Commissioner, Sanjay Goyal said adding that the report will be a reference for the police to handle the case.

When informed that a case was not registered in this regard, Goyal said, “Referring to the report, I will discuss the matter with the SP and see if we can take up separate actions.”

According to the magisterial report which was submitted to the State Government recently, out of the 11 boys, four were Muslim by birth while seven were Christian and all had embraced Islam few years back. [Or rather, their parents had.]

The report, however, ruled out the angle of forced circumcision stating that “the parents of the inmates had already embraced Islam few years ago and willingly sent their children to Maherbaan orphanage to ensure that the children get proper education.”

Earlier, the Shillong Muslim Union running this orphanage has also denied of carrying out the procedure in a hush-hush manner stating that the parents had given their consent ‘verbally’.

Earlier story...

INDIA: 11 boys circumcised without parents' consent

Some people just like to circumcise...

Znews (India)
December 5, 2013

Circumcision of tribal boys illegal, says Magisterial inquiry

Shillong: A magisterial inquiry into the 'ritual circumcision' of 11 tribal boys at a state-run super specialty hospital near here, has declared it illegal.

The report said that the 11 boys from Ri-Bhoi and East Jaintia Hills districts who were in an orphanage were circumcised at the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Science (NEIGRIHMS) on October 4, 5 and 6 without obtaining prior consent from their parents.

The matter became known after a youth organisation, Seng Samla Shnong Shilliang Umkhen, raised a hue and cry over it alleging misuse of power by a senior doctor for conducting 'religious rituals' at the institute.

This led the state government to order a magisterial inquiry.

The report by the East Khasi district magistrate was submitted to the state government last Saturday.
The report recommended that NEIGRIHMS chief A G Ahanger constitute further inquiry against the circumcision to ascertain if it was done by medical officers at the institute at the personal request of doctors and colleagues.

"The Director of NEIGRIHMS should ascertain whether the operations were as per procedure laid down by the hospital administration, rules and procedures," the report said.

It sought punitive action against the secretary of the orphanage, Kursheed Thabah, for failing to consult the parents of the boys before the 'ritual circumcision'.

Thabah had signed the consent forms for the 11 boys and informed the parents only after the operations were performed, it said.

The orphanage also was yet to register itself and attracted legal provisions for not adhering to the rule of law, the report added.

KENYA: 8 girls in hospital with FGC complications

Daily Nation (Kenya)
December 4, 2013

Girls taken to hospital after undergoing circumcision

by Wanjiru Macharia
Eight girls are undergoing treatment at the Rift Valley Provincial General Hospital after developing complications related to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).

The girls aged between 16 and 20 years had secretly undergone the ritual at Teret area of Mau Narok on Monday night, December 2, 2013.

Three of them were pregnant while several others had young children and were breastfeeding the children who accompanied them to hospital.

The hospital Medical Superintendent Dr John Murima confirmed the girls had been brought to the hospital and were still undergoing check-up.

“The girls are here and they came in accompanied by police officers but I cannot comment on their conditions because they are still being analysed,” said Dr Murima.

He said he could only comment on their conditions after doctors at the hospital had conducted checks on all of them for a detailed report.

The girls arrived at the provincial hospital wrapped in blankets and with no other clothes on.

Ms Mary Tinga, a volunteer with Loreto Sisters Against FGM who took the girls to the hospital said the girls were found by the area chief and Administration Police officers following a tip off.

She said some of the girls had already been married off and were forced to undergo FGM by their husbands and other older women.

“The girls told me that their husbands insult them all the time telling them that their food is not cooked while older women chase them away when they go to fetch water from the river,” said Ms Tinga.

She said there were increased cases of FGM in the area and attributed this to the cultural belief that uncircumcised women cannot make good wives.

Ms Tinga said men who marry uncircumcised girls force them to undergo the dangerous exercise following pressure from their mothers and the community.

Some of the girls at the hospital said that they willingly underwent the operation to save their marriages since they already had children.

Ms Tinga said the circumcisers and the people who had taken the girls for the ritual fled when the chief and AP officers arrived at the scene.

She called on the government to make sure the people responsible are arrested and prosecuted.

SWEDEN: Woman arrested for illegal circumcisions

UPI
July 3, 2013

Woman arrested for illegal circumcision of two young boys

EKSJO, Sweden, July 3 (UPI) -- Swedish police have arrested a 36-year-old woman in connection with the illegal circumcision of two young boys in the town of Eksjo, authorities said.

Police spokesman Goran Gunnarsson told the Swedish news agency TT that police received a call from someone who heard the boys screaming.

The unidentified woman apprehended at the scene is believed to be a relative of the two boys.

Charges against her include suspicion of aggravated assault since it is illegal to perform a circumcision in Sweden without supervision by a medical professional.

The Swedish Parliament passed a law in 2001 requiring a professional to be present at all circumcisions.

The law is not only designed to safeguard against pain but also to help prevent potential infection.

NAMIBIA: First Lady condemns traditional circumcision

AllAfrica.com
June 24, 2013

Namibia: Harmful Male Circumcision Condemned

by Kuzeeko Tjitemisa

Keetmanshoop — Namibian First Lady Penehupifo Pohamba has condemned all practices within the traditional, religious and social environment that are detrimental to the well-being and general development of the African child.

In her statement read by Councillor Jan Schotlz during the commemoration of the Day of the Africa Child held at the J Stephanus Stadium last Friday, Pohamba specifically singled out traditional circumcision as being harmful to children. She said that such social and cultural practices female genital mutilation, infanticide, child labour and forced marriages. "It is about time we examined our positions when it comes to these harmful social practices affecting our children," she said and added that a cursory look at the situation painted a picture that suggested that "we all have thrown [up] our hands in despair, giving an aura of morality to practitioners and believers of these practices."

... She further said there is a growing problem of children subjected to all forms of harmful practices, such as child labour and exploitation; traditional male circumcision of young boys, but also social practices such as neglect, baby dumping, sexual abuse, as well as the phenomena of sugar daddies and sugar mommies. ... Today we are not calling for culture to be done away with, but for all of us to relook some of these practices and to make a decision: is it beneficial or is it harmful. If we find that it is harmful, then I'm calling on all of us today to make a serious effort to do away with these harmful cultural practices," she said

"You are our hope for a better tomorrow. I want to call on all of you, to grab all opportunities at your disposal to equip yourself with knowledge, to study hard, and know where you can report incidents of harmful social and cultural practices and all other forms of violence against children," she emphasised. ... The Day of the African Child is marked on June 16 each year to honour the memory of schoolchildren killed and the courage of all those who marched in 1976 during a demonstration in Soweto, South Africa.

On that day, an estimated 10 000 schoolchildren gathered at the Orlando Stadium in Soweto to protest against an apartheid-inspired education system in that country and to demand instruction in their own languages instead of Afrikaans. The unarmed learners were, however, brutally attacked by the police and in the process an estimated 176 children lost their lives while thousands of them got wounded what has come to be known throughout the world as the "Soweto Uprising."

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UGANDA: Men flee "life-threatening" forced circumcision

Uganda Picks
June 24, 2013

Mbale Residents Flee Forceful Circumcision

by Emmanuel Okwii

If you are an adult male who has been planning to visit Mbale anytime this week, then you might as well postpone your visit unless you want to be circumcised in the streets. The youth in Mbale are on the run following the forceful circumcision campaign that started last week.

The operation is being spearheaded by the Mbale male Bagisu youth against their colleagues that have not been circumcised. Business in the town has been affected as the uncircumcised have begun fleeing lest they be injured and ruthlessly circumcised.

This indiscriminate circumcision campaign, though intended for the Bagisu youth, has equally threatened non Bagisu in the town with many shops owned by the non Bagisu locked.

Reports obtained from Mbale Hospital have revealed that more than 60 adult men have so far rushed to Mbale hospital such that they too can be circumcised. Those that Uganda Picks spoke to claim that the ruthlessness with which their fellow youth circumcise the uncircumcised is life threatening.

However, the Bamasaba elders claim that this early campaign by the youths does not in any way reflect the position of the Bamasaba cultural institution. They said that real circumcision carried alongside rituals will commence in August. They have also condemned in the strongest terms possible the indiscriminate circumcision currently being done in the Mbale streets.

SUDAN: Girls cut to punish father - for speaking against cutting

Ahram (Egypt)
June 20, 2013

Egypt's refugees find Syrian crisis brings new challenges and some hope

by Hazel Haddon

On World Refugee Day, Egypt has been praised for welcoming thousands of Syrians seeking refuge, but some African refugees are feeling left behind

Moataz, a 41-year-old Sudanese asylum seeker from Darfur, has called Egypt home for the last year, but it has not always been a welcoming one.

He worked in north Darfur for several years, until he started to have problems with the Sudanese government, who believed he was cooperating with local rebel groups. “I had to resign and come to Khartoum. I knew I was being followed,” he says.

He was then forced to flee Khartoum after delivering a speech at a women’s rights conference, in which he argued that girls should not be circumcised.

“While I was speaking at the conference, they came and took my kids. They took my two girls and circumcised them.

"They brought a letter, and they had doctors' uniforms. They said they came from the ministry of health. They had put my photo on a document, saying that I had agreed to do that,” Moataz says. “When they brought them back they gave my wife a message: Tell your husband he shouldn’t talk about these things.”

His daughters were two and six when they were forcibly circumcised. After the incident, he fled with his family to Egypt and claimed asylum.

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SOUTH AFRICA: Circumcision botched, Health Departments sued

iAfrica
June 7, 2013

Dept sued over circumcision

The national and Mpumalanga health departments are being sued for R10.7-million [$US 1.07 million] after a botched circumcision in which a nine-year-old boy lost the tip of his penis.

A Sapa correspondent reported on Friday that the boy, who cannot be named because he is a minor, was mutilated at Barberton Hospital five years ago.

"The matter has been referred to the State attorney, as we were sued for alleged medical negligence for an amount of R10.7-million," Mpumalanga health spokesperson Ronnie Masilela said.
"At this stage, we have only received a letter of demand and summons will surely be served, but it has not yet been served."
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Earlier story