PERTH: Couple charged with taking daughter to Bali for cutting

WAtoday (Western Australia)
January 25, 2013

Genital mutilation parents appear in court

by Aleisha Orr

The Perth mother and father alleged to have organised the illegal circumcision of their baby girl in Bali have made a brief appearance in court.

The 44-year-old father and 42-year-old mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared in Perth Magistrates Court on Wednesday charged with female genital mutilation offences.

Police allege the parents went to Perth Airport in August with the intention of taking the girl to Bali for the procedure.

The matter was adjourned until February 27 to allow further consultation with the treating doctor in the case.

Female circumcision is performed in some cultures and religions, but is illegal in Australia.

It is also illegal to perform, arrange or take a child out of the state for such a procedure.

Earlier story

SOUTH AFRICA: Youth's throat cut, foreskin stolen

SAPA
January 23, 2013

His foreskin was cut off!

An 18-year-old boy was found in Kutlwanong with his throat slit and his foreskin removed from his genitals, Free State police said

Sgt Puleng Motsoeneng said the body was found on Saturday by a passerby walking near Tshepong mine.

“When he saw traces of blood, he became curious and followed the blood traces.

“To his dismay he made the gruesome discovery and found a teenage boy lying in a pool of his own blood, still in his school uniform.”

She said the principal of JC Motume High School identified him as Lerato Samuel Nyama.

No arrests have been made.
[Comments suggest the young man was murdered either to use his foreskin for witchcraft, or because he had seen boys during their initiation school.]

One Direction singer flicks girlfriend who nagged him to get cut

Yes, a foreskin is a good airhead repellent...

Showbiz Spy
January , 2013

Harry Styles told to get circumcised

by Adam

HARRY Styles dumped Taylor Swift because she wanted him to get circumcised.

The One Direction star apparently hated that Taylor kept nagging him about clipping his manhood.

“Taylor didn’t like the fact that English-born Harry was not circumcised – she even suggested he undergo surgery!” a source said.

“Harry made it clear he had no intention of changing anything. He asked her not to mention it again. But Taylor never missed the chance to poke fun or make a comment.

“At first, Harry just rolled his eyes and tried to ignore her, but the final straw came when she suggested once again that he get…snipped!”

NEW YORK: Metzitzah: Parental consent form

NYC 311
(January 22, 2013)

Circumcision Consent Form

Ritual Jewish circumcision with direct oral suctioning (metzitzah b'peh) can only be performed after a parent has given written permission.

The consent form needs to be signed by both the mohel and at least one parent.

Download the Circumcision Consent Form.

Consent to perform oral suction during circumcision Printed first and last name of individual performing circumcision:________________________________ Date of infant's birth (month/day/year): _________________________ I understand that direct oral suction will be performed on my child and that the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene advises parents that direct oral suction should not be performed because it exposes an infant to the risk of transmission of herpes simplex virus infection, which may result in brain damage or death. Printed first and last name of parent: __________________________________________ Signature of parent:________________________________________ Date of signature (month/day/year): ____________________________ A copy of this signed consent form shall be provided to the parent or legal guardian of the infant. [logo] NYC Health

[The mohel does not need to sign the form, or give any contact details. Only one parent needs to sign it, even if the other bitterly disagrees with metzitzah or even circumcision. The form is not kept on file anywhere. There is no mechanism for ensuring that either parent sees it or signs it.]

Earlier story

JAKARTA: Muslim group pushes against FGC ban

The Jakarta Post
January 22, 2013

Muslim body pushes Indonesian govt to circumcise girls

The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) is bucking a United Nation's campaign to ban female circumcision, demanding that the government keep the practice legal.

MUI deputy secretary-general Amirsyah Tambunan told reporters at a press conference on Monday that the government should continue to allow female circumcision, calling it a constitutional right.

"Circumcision is a part of the Islamic teachings that were recommended for Muslims, both male and female," Amrisyah said at MUI headquarters as quoted by Antara news agency. "The MUI and Islamic organisations in the country firmly stand against any efforts to ban female circumcision."

Female circumcision performed by licensed doctors, nurses or midwives was legalised by a Health Ministry regulation issued in 2010 that defined the practice as "incising the skin that covers the front part of clitoris, without harming the clitoris".

Last month, the UN approved a non-binding resolution urging its 193 member states to enforce legislation prohibiting female genital mutilation.

According to the World Health Organisation, female genital mutilation can cause urination problems, severe bleeding and complications during childbirth.

In Indonesia the practice ranges from the symbolic - a small tap with a bamboo stick - to slicing the clitoris off with scissors.

The National Commission on Violence against Women (Komnas Perempuan) has consistently urged that the 2010 ministerial regulation be revoked, claiming it violated women's reproductive rights.

Meanwhile, Huzaemah, a member of MUI's fatwa commission, said that female circumcision was a religious obligation that should be done to control women's sexual desire.

Separately, the executive director of the Wahid Institute, Ahmad Suaedy, disagreed, saying that the practice was based on fiqih (Islamic jurisprudence) that could be interpreted differently by different ulemas.

"Female circumcision is not in the sharia. Maybe, the MUI drew their conclusions from a fiqih that was applied in a particular context and region," he told The Jakarta Post.

Meanwhile, Enrico Renaldi, a physician from the Indonesian General Practitioners Association, said that local medical schools did not teach female circumcision procedures.

"I also have never heard of female circumcision training for doctors. Traditionally, this practice is only performed by midwives," he told the Post.

Earlier story

JAKARTA: Women's rights groups push for FGC ban

Jakarta Globe
January 21, 2013

Rights Groups Push for Female Circumcision Ban

The National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) spoke out against the Ministry of Health’s refusal to ban female circumcision on Monday, calling the practice, which is tolerated in some communities, a form of gender discrimination. [How is that, when male genital cutting is allowed?]

Rural Indonesian Muslims have historically tolerated a form of female circumcision where a small cut is made to the clitoris of a young girl by a dukun (shaman) shortly after birth.

The Ministry of Health banned health workers from performing female genital cutting in a 2006 decree. But in 2010, Health Minister Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih issued guidelines that instructed health workers to “scrape the skin covering the clitoris, without injuring the clitoris” in an effort to provide a measure of safety in the widely unregulated industry.

Women's rights groups criticized the decree, arguing that the regulation was a tacit approval of female circumcision. Now, three years later, women’s rights groups are pushing for Health Minister Nafsiah Mboi to ban the practice.

“Strange the Ministry of Health, as an institution, can be directed by the MUI [the Indonesian Ulema of Council],” Komnas Perempuan commissioner Ninik Rahayu, told the Indonesian newspaper Tempo.

Nafsiah said the ministry approved of health workers performing female circumcision under the existing guidelines.

“If [women] would like to get circumcised please make an inquiry to a health agency so a medical officer can handle [the procedure],” Nafsiah told Tempo. “Do not go to a dukun [shaman] because [circumcisions done by shamans] are prone to infection.”

Nafsiah said that female circumcision did not cause any negative side effects if the clitoris isn’t cut.

Komnas Perempuan questioned the ministry’s decision.

“What standards?” Ninik said. “Our medical officers have never been trained to perform female circumcision.”

The MUI rejected any efforts to ban the practice on Monday. MUI chairman Ma’ruf Amin instead urged all hospitals and health centers in Indonesia to service those who want their daughters circumcised.

“What we reject is the ban. If there is a request [to perform a female circumcision], don’t turn [the parents] away,” Ma’ruf said.

The MUI considers circumcision an act of religious devotion. The MUI issued a fatwa five years ago, saying that female circumcision is a religious service.

But Ninik argued that, under Islamic law, female circumcision is considered a tradition, not a religious order.

Earlier story

SHEFFIELD, UK: Circumcision funding cut sparks "backstreet" fears

BBC
January 17, 2013

Sheffield circumcision cuts spark backstreet op fear

Funding for male circumcision for non-medical reasons in Sheffield is to be cut, sparking concerns there will be a rise in backstreet operations.

About 200 circumcisions are carried out for religious reasons in Sheffield each year, at a cost of £200,000.

NHS Sheffield's Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is looking to make savings and has proposed making families pay for the procedure.

Members of the city's Islamic community have complained about the decision.

Community worker Wahid Nazir said Muslim and Jewish communities would be affected.

"If these proposals go ahead these people that are doing these circumcisions in the backstreets, people that are not medically qualified, are going to become more prominent... and there's going to be more problems and young children are going to be put at risk.

"In Sheffield it was advertised and people were encouraged to go to the NHS and get things done properly and it was very successful. So we're taking a backward step."

The move would bring Sheffield in line with national guidelines from the Department of Health, which say circumcisions should not be funded when they are requested for non-medical reasons.

In a statement, the CCG said: "Nationally, the NHS does not fund routine or religious circumcisions but despite this, Sheffield continues to spend £200,000 a year on these operations.

"As a CCG, we have to review what is the best use of funding for the half a million people who live in our city and as we only carry out around 200 circumcisions a year, we can assume that many parents are already using non-NHS funded services.

"As a CCG we are keen to ensure that all services we fund are medically necessary and appropriate whilst also providing the best value for money for all."

Earlier story

Circumcision in the UK Most circumcisions in the UK are done for non-therapeutic reasons (religious) Currently no formal qualifications are required to perform the operation Jewish boys are circumcised when they are eight-days-old by a Mohel - a Jewish person trained in the practice of brit milah, the covenant of circumcision [So the NHS is not involved.] Most Muslim boys and some Christians are also circumcised as babies. [Circumcision has no place in Christianity] There is no equivalent of a Jewish Mohel in Islam or Christianity with procedures usually carried out by doctors Some medical experts have called for religious circumcision to be offered on the NHS to minimise the risk of post-operative complications