In a global first, Gambia could reverse its ban on female genital cutting

Rapidcreek@lemmy.world to World News@lemmy.world – 127 points –
In a global first, Gambia could reverse its ban on female genital cutting
apnews.com
28

The country’s top Islamic body has called the practice β€œone of the virtues of Islam.”

Religion is a cancer.

Yep. It's the exact same reason why boys will always be subjected to genital mutilation in the US without scrutiny.

Could you imagine how Jews would react if it were illegal?

Thing is, in the US circumcision is done by far more people than just practicing Jews. It's somehow been embedded into their standard societal practices.

The point is that the roots of it are religious. Same goes for Islamic societal norms in other countries, even if they aren't your typical middle Eastern or African shit hole where literal extremists rule. The general issue with religion is that they typically all see their own rules above all others, so they believe that countries and their laws must follow them instead of the other way around. That's why separation of state and church is such an important practice that needs to be adapted. People should simply not be allowed to make policy based on religious belief.

Oh yes I most definitely agree with you!

Female genital mutilation is not a part of Islam.

Male genital mutilation, however, is. (Just like Judaism)

Female genital mutilation is not a part of Islam.

The top Islamic body in the Gambia disagrees.

I thought the Quran made no mention of FGM, and that the practice was discouraged (or outright forbidden) by Islamic fatwas / religious scholars.

Imagine thinking you have the right to mutilate other genitals. Fuck religion. Why is god so obsessed with everyone’s junk anyway?

Backwards. This would be going backwards. We shouldn't mutilate babies.

I'll also note for anyone who might be unaware that FGM is far worse than circumcision (which should ALSO be banned at childhood imo). FGM takes off a LOT more, it's a much more extreme procedure

I hear this often, and I fail to understand why anyone would need to defend male circumcision in the first place. Why must we continue to perform male circumcision and ban female circumcision? Couldn't both just be banned?

religious weirdos and lots of "im circumcised so its weird to not be"

Genital mutilation is genital mutilation.

It’s fucked up, wrong, and should be criminal unless the receiving individual requests and consents to it.

Full stop.

Even if they're both wrong, it's worth mentioning. It's much more common for people to have experience with one than the other. If you think "oh, it's just like circumcision so it isn't that bad" then you're getting the wrong idea.

FGM can vary between the literal cutting off of the clitoris or just the labia, the latter would be more comparable to circumcision. And yes, both practices should be banned unless there's a medical reason for it. Anything else is just plastic surgery and should be decided by the then adult person.

7 more...
7 more...
7 more...