Suhair al-Bateh is a young girl who grew up in Menshiyat al-Ekhwa, an Egyptian village in theWhile there were some initial reports that al-Bateh's death came from improper use of anesthetic, it looks like it was directly from the procedure itself: according to a health inspector she died because of "a sharp fall in body-fluid force as a result of trauma shock."
province of Daqhaliyya on the Nile’s Delta. This village is no different from thousands of others in Egypt, as it is characterized by a significant dearth of services and development, and the utter prevalence of dire poverty and ignorance.
Suhair grew up in a modest family headed by parents of limited education. Like thousands of families in rural Egypt, hers believed that the preservation of a girl’s honor starts by depriving their daughters of womanhood through circumcision. This procedure uses primitive tools and lasts for mere minutes; following which, they believe a girl would be immune to “the allures of sex.”
Suhair died before reaching the age of thirteen due to her exposure to this barbaric custom.
An article from last February reveals some of the horror around this procedure:
Like “a lamb led to slaughter,” so was Faten, an Egyptian girl, taken to her uncle’s house where a collective massacre took place. The town’s butcher was waiting for her and other girls her age with a sharp knife, a chopper, long scissors and other sharp, non-sterile tools that were to be used to perform her “circumcision.” Circumcision is the ablation of the vital part of a woman’s genitalia, as it is considered by some to be “haram” for her to feel [sexual] pleasure.Keep in mind that she is talking about Cairo, not only rural areas of Egypt that some articles claim is the major centers for FGM.
Faten told NOW that when she turned 11, her aunt told her that she should go to her uncle’s house where she would be circumcised. Her aunt allegedly attempted to convince her that “this is natural, [that] all girls her age do it and that the Prophet recommended” that females have the procedure done. Faten elaborated further on the process, saying that, for example, “In Cairo, girls between the ages of eight and eleven are rounded up into a single house where they circumcised by the town’s butcher, or perhaps elderly women. Before they are taken to have the procedure done, the “surgeon” tells the children’s parents that circumcision is simple and does not cause any pain.”
What makes matters worse, however, is that the person performing the circumcision is usually the town butcher, not a certified or seasoned doctor. According to a report that was aired on Al-Hurra TV, “most tribes… that still have the young women take part in this tradition believe that it speeds up a girl’s process of maturation, and also increases her chances of finding a husband, as many men refuse to marry an uncircumcised female. Those who practice [FGM] also believe that this procedure guarantees a female’s virginity until marriage, as they believe circumcision protects a woman’s chastity until she gets married. Moreover, they believe it prevents marital infidelity as the wife has no need for sex.”
Against all forms of practical logic, some still insist that circumcision helps keep female genitalia hygienic and that ir removes bad odors. However, much like other girls, Faten almost died as a result of severe bleeding, as the butcher – who was “no medical specialist” – was not precise and removed an additional section of her genitalia.