The petition, filed by advocate Sunita Tiwari, sought a complete ban of 'khatna' — the ritual of female circumcision and making it a criminal offence.
The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to the Centre in a matter pertaining to the ritual of female genital mutilation observing that the issue was "very serious".
The petition, filed by advocate Sunita Tiwari, sought a complete ban of 'khatna' — the ritual of female circumcision and making it a criminal offence.
Tiwari, a champion for human rights filed the petition in the wake of a number of reported incidents pertaining to the practice of Female Genital Mutilation (in short FGM) commonly known as 'Khatna' or 'Khafd', being performed upon girls (between five years and before she attains puberty) from the Dawoodi Bohra community among the Shia Muslims.
Tiwari contended that the practice resulted in serious violations of basic fundamental rights of the victims who in these cases are minors. She further contended that India was violating several international commitments against the abuse of girls as well as women of this community, and also against the serious violation of the female body thereby causing permanent deformity/ disfiguration to the body of a girl child and subsequently when she becomes an adult woman.
"Khatna is the process of removing part or all of the female genitalia. It is a ritual performed on every girl child within the Dawoodi Bohra religious community without any medical reason and does not have any reference in the Quran," the petition read.
Tiwari added that not only was this ritual discriminatory, it also violated a minor's right over her body.
The petitioner was concerned about the atrocity, bodily pain, in-humanness and mental torture faced by the girls and women of Dawoodi Bohra community for their entire life due to the unhygienic and illegal surgeries performed on their person for non medical reasons during their childhood (when they could not even know or realize what had happened with them), thereby intruding into their privacy and resulting into physical impairment or disability by the time they reach adulthood, as it puts an end to their sexual desires and feelings of womanhood.
To support her claims, Tiwari has submitted a documentary directed by Priya Goswami that highlights the dangers of this practice.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), FGM is recognised internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and women. On their website, WHO states that the practice, reflects deep-rooted inequality between the sexes, and constitutes an extreme form of discrimination against women. It is nearly always carried out on minors and is a violation of the rights of children. The practice also violates a person's rights to health, security and physical integrity, the right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and the right to life when the procedure results in death.
Key Facts published by the World Health Organisation (WHO)
Female genital mutilation (FGM) includes procedures that intentionally alter or cause injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.
The procedure has no health benefits for girls and women.
Procedures can cause severe bleeding and problems urinating, and later cysts, infections, as well as complications in childbirth and increased risk of newborn deaths.
More than 200 million girls and women alive today have been cut in 30 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia where FGM is concentrated.
FGM is mostly carried out on young girls between infancy and age 15.
FGM is a violation of the human rights of girls and women.
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