Statue of Dr. Magdi Yacoub Will Be Installed in Giza's Kit Kat Square
Jun 23, 2025
A statue of Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub, the renowned Egyptian-British heart surgeon, will soon be erected in Kit Kat Square, Giza. The initiative comes under a newly signed cooperation protocol between the Ministry of Culture and the Giza Governorate.
The sculpture aims to commemorate Professor Sir Yacoub's contributions to medicine and public service, particularly his decades-long commitment to providing cardiac care to underserved communities in Egypt and abroad.
The Ministry of Culture, through the Cultural Development Fund, will manage the project, overseeing artistic contracting and all technical phases. The Giza Governorate will support the project financially and ensure the square is suitably prepared to receive the statue.
Born in 1935 in Belbeis, Professor Sir Yacoub rose to international prominence for his pioneering work in heart surgery and for founding several charitable heart foundations in both Egypt and the United Kingdom. The statue forms part of a broader national effort to recognise Egyptian figures whose legacies are defined by service and impact.
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At a meeting of the National Committee for the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation held in June this year, Minister of Social Solidarity Maya Morsi said FGM is not only a violation against women but is also a crime against childhood, against the body, and against a person's future. 'FGM is not a social tradition or a family custom; it is a festering wound that reopens every day,' she stated. According to official statistics, women's support for FGM in Egypt has plummeted from 75 per cent in 2000 to 30 per cent in 2021. While Morsi lauded the progress, 'the journey is far from over,' she said. 'Projections estimate that seven million girls in Egypt remain at risk of being subjected to the practice between 2015 and 2030.' To meet the United Nations goal of eradicating FGM by 2030, the pace of intervention must be accelerated to 15 times its current rate, she remarked. DECLINE 'The decline in FGM rates cannot be attributed to a single initiative or isolated strategy. 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The first phase, from the early 20th century to the 1950s, saw the majority of parents circumcising their girls. But this was the same period that saw a rise in education and the establishment of the Egyptian University in Cairo. In 1928, Ali Pasha Ibrahim, the first Egyptian Dean of the Qasr Al-Aini Faculty of Medicine, stated that FGM would not be taught at the Faculty of Medicine. Religious perspectives also began to shift during this period. In 1905, Sheikh Rashid Reda said FGM was not obligatory in Islam. In the 1940s, Sheikh Hussein Makhlouf, grand mufti of Egypt of the time, echoed the same opinion. The second phase, from the 1950s through the 1990s, saw the first interventions by the government and religious institutions against FGM. In 1959, Noureddin Tarraf, the then minister of health, banned the practice, and the then grand imam of Al-Azhar Sheikh Mahmoud Shaltout issued a religious edict declaring that 'we have no reason to advocate FGM, either religiously, morally, or medically.' These interventions were in line with the United Nations Commission on Human Rights initial deliberations on FGM in 1952 and a 1958 Resolution issued by the United Nations Economic and Social Council, which classified FGM as a harmful socio-cultural practice. FGM was also addressed in both the press and literature at the time, most notably in writer Fathi Ghanem's acclaimed novel Zeinab and the Throne (1972). Writer Nawal Al-Saadawi also recounted her harrowing personal experience with female circumcision in her book The Hidden Face of Eve (1977). Fouad believes these interventions contributed to raising the awareness of a limited group of urban middle-class families, some of whom chose not to subject their daughters to FGM. 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CHALLENGES Amid these challenges, the first national programme to combat FGM was launched in 2003 under the auspices of the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood chaired by Ambassador Moushira Khattab. The programme's principal objective was to foster a supportive social and cultural environment that would empower Egyptian families to abandon this form of violence against women. Between 2003 and 2008, it implemented a series of measures in this direction. A critical turning point occurred in June 2007, when 13-year-old Bodour died at the hands of a physician in Minya during a circumcision procedure. At that point, the programme mobilised key religious, medical, legislative, and media institutions in adopting firm stances against FGM. In 2007, Egypt's Dar Al-Iftaa under the leadership of Ali Gomaa issued an edict declaring FGM as haram (religiously forbidden). In the same year, Hatem Al-Gabali, the then minister of health, issued a decree banning all healthcare professionals from performing FGM in any setting, and the Doctors Syndicate released a statement prohibiting physicians from engaging in the practice. In 2008, parliament approved a law criminalising FGM. The fourth phase, from 2008 until the present, Fouad said, has seen several milestones initiated by or coordinated with the programme, the most notable of which have been the successes of civil society, government entities, and media institutions in countering efforts by extremist religious groups to revoke the 2008 law criminalising FGM and to reintroduce the practice during the Muslim Brotherhood's rule in 2012. In 2013, the Supreme Constitutional Court rejected a lawsuit filed by religious extremists to annul the 2007 ministerial decree and the 2008 legislation criminalising FGM. FGM was reclassified from a misdemeanour in 2008 to a felony between 2016 and 2021. The first enforcement of the anti-FGM law took place in 2015 seven years after the enactment of the law, when the physician and the father of Soheir Al-Batea, a girl from Daqahliya who had died during the procedure, were sentenced to periods in prison. In May 2019, a National Committee to Combat FGM was established by a decision of the prime minister, in collaboration with the National Council for Women and the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood. Law 10/2021 increased the maximum penalty for FGM to 20 years' imprisonment. The Ministry of Social Solidarity has submitted a proposal containing a host of measures aimed at protecting girls against FGM, including the integration of anti-FGM awareness messages into the Takaful and Karama social welfare programmes that reach 30 million Egyptians, as well as offering in-kind incentives to families that do not circumcise their girls. Shelters for women survivors of violence have been opened to operate around the clock, and the Ministry of Social Solidarity's hotline (16439) has been designated to receive reports of violence against women. The committee has also highlighted examples of Egyptian families who have chosen to abandon FGM, despite the restrictive traditions surrounding it. 'There is now a high level of awareness regarding the dangers of FGM, thanks to the engagement of both governmental and civil society institutions. Breaking the taboo has led to legislative reforms and the imposition of prison sentences, even for fathers who authorise FGM,' said Mona Ezzat, chair of the Board of Trustees of the Elnoon Foundation for Family Care. 'Highlighting the fatal incidents of FGM has heightened families' recognition of the gravity of the practice and its harmful consequences. These achievements are the result of cumulative and sustained efforts,' Ezzat said. 'Sadly, however, progress remains slow,' she added. 'This is largely due to deep-rooted cultural legacies linking FGM to the control, discipline, and moral education of girls. Dismantling this conservative, patriarchal mindset that continues to shape society's perception of women is key to eradicating FGM.' * A version of this article appears in print in the 3 July, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
