FGM rate in Egypt drops from 61% to 37%: Minister

Al-Ahram Weekly

20-06-2025

The prevalence of female genital mutilation (FGM) among girls aged 15-17 in Egypt has fallen sharply to 37 percent in 2021 from 61 percent in 2014, Social Solidarity Minister Maya Morsy announced on Thursday.
Morsy added that public support among women for the practice has also dropped sharply from 75 percent in 2000 to just 30 percent in 2021.
'These encouraging figures show we are on the right path, though many challenges remain,' she told the 10th meeting of the National Committee for the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).
During the meeting, she also launched the fourth edition of the "Pioneers of Change Award," honouring Mary Assaad, Aziza Hussein, and Nabil Samuel for their efforts against the practice.
Emphasising the severity of the issue, Morsy stated that FGM is not merely a women's issue but "a full-fledged crime against childhood, against the body, and against the future."
"Female genital mutilation is not just a social custom or family ritual. It is a wound that reopens daily in our beloved country," she added.
Maya Morsy recalled the tragic case of Bodour, a girl who died in Minya Governorate in 2007 during an FGM procedure performed by a doctor.
This incident led to the designation of June 14 as Egypt's National Day for Combating FGM.
Minister Morsy said the tragedy 'sparked a national awakening to confront this crime with united hands to protect our young girls, who deserve our protection and dignity,' she said.
Egypt has implemented robust legal and institutional measures to combat FGM.
The practice was criminalised in 2008, and penalties were stiffened in 2016.
In 2019, the National Committee to Combat FGM was formed through a collaboration between the National Council for Women and the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood.
A key achievement of the committee was the passage of a law in 2021, increasing the maximum penalty for FGM to 20 years.
The current law mandates 5–7 years of imprisonment for anyone who performs FGM, with penalties of up to 10 years for medical professionals involved. If the procedure results in death, the sentence increases to 10–20 years.
Clinics where FGM is performed may be shut down for up to five years, with the reasons for closure publicly posted.
In September 2021, a landmark court ruling sentenced a nurse to 10 years in prison for performing FGM on a minor and sentenced the girl's father to 3 years for authorising the procedure.
The committee has also developed several anti-FGM national awareness campaigns.
Despite the progress, Morsy cautioned that the danger of FGM is "far from over." She cited estimates that seven million girls are still at risk of undergoing FGM between 2015 and 2030.
"This compels us to accelerate our efforts at fifteen times the current pace to meet the global goal of eliminating FGM by 2030," she stated.
In her closing remarks, the Minister announced full support for the committee's future efforts. She proposed utilising the national cash transfer program Takaful and Karama—which reaches nearly 30 million beneficiaries—as a tool for awareness and prevention.
Suggestions included integrating anti-FGM messages into programming conditions and offering in-kind incentives to families that refuse FGM.
She also recommended developing training materials for Takaful and Karama recipients and empowering female community leaders to serve as the frontline voice of the campaign.
Furthermore, she stated that the women's centres, affiliated with the solidarity ministry to assist victims of violence, would operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with the 16439 hotline to be available to receive and respond to such cases.
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