Activism Featured Case Study

“Many activists, grassroots organizations, government sponsored initiatives, media outlets and others working on Muslim women’s issues, have developed and are implementing leading-edge strategies and best practices for their work in the field. Case studies from all over the world are highlighted here to show concrete examples of how these practices are being used to create change. Disseminating these good practices is one step towards sharing and learning from one another.”

The Egyptian Association for Society Development and FGC

Located in Giza, the Egyptian Association for Society Development is a NGO made up of both men and women dedicated to improving women’s rights and raising awareness about the discrimination that exists against women today.

The Association recently took on the challenge of Female Genital Cutting (FGC), a practice that continues to take place throughout Egypt today, even though it has been outlawed. They are working to eradicate FGC through a two-pronged strategy: developing replacement economic activities, in order that the barbers who perform FGC do not lose income after they cease these activities; and providing religious trainings demonstrating that FGC is un-Qur’anic.

FGC is a practice that originated in some parts of Africa, primarily Egypt and Sudan. It is a cultural practice that dates back thousands of years – back to the time of the Egyptian Pharaohs – and was practiced long before the birth of Islam in the 7th century. In Egypt, it is practiced by Christians as well as Muslims. Although, especially in rural areas, FGC is often believed to be an Islamic practice, it has been condemned by Islamic scholars, denounced in fatwas, and rendered illegal by governmental statutes.

Members of the Association met with a group of five individuals who perform the procedure in a suburb of Cairo in an attempt to convince them to stop, but all were reluctant. After one year of their efforts, members of the Association were able to reach out to one of the individuals, Amin Hussein the barber, in 2008. Hussein agreed to stop practicing FGC in return for a monthly compensation for over a year.

When the Association visited Hussein’s barber shop, it was in poor condition; he had no tools, no mirrors, and a broken seat. His motivation for practicing FGC was the income it provided him to support his wife and three children. He would perform 2 or 3 operations a week, for which he would receive at least 50 Egyptian pounds. At this rate, Hussein’s income was 6000 Egyptian pounds and was performing the operation on at least 120 girls a year. The organization offered him an exchange on the condition that he stops this practice of new tools, new mirrors, a new seat and 1000 Egyptian pounds monthly for a year.

The Egyptian Association for Society Development is now in the process of expanding it’s program in order to offer the same exchange to the four other people performing operations in the same area.