Female Circumcision Banned in Uganda

By Kylie M Tsudama
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

KAMPALA, Uganda - The Ugandan parliament voted unanimously to ban female genital mutilation, a traditional rite.

Female genital mutilation, also known as female circumcision, is the practice of cutting off a girl's clitoris.  In some eastern Ugandan communities it is practiced in girls up to the age of fifteen. 

"A majority of Ugandans felt it is a disgusting act, but you have to remember that this is a cultural belief that has been practiced for generations," said government spokesman Fred Opolot.  "That's what took the bill so long to pass."

The tradition, practiced in many African and Asian communities, has sparked international outcry.  Human rights activists say that the practice poses major health risks for girls, causing complications during sex and child birth.  These include bleeding, shock, infections, and could lead to death.

"The experience has also been related to a range of psychological and psychosomatic disorders," said the United Nations Population Fund.

Nearly 140 million women and girls have undergone this procedure and another three million face genital mutilation every year.  Most of the victims live in Africa and Asia, including India, Indonesia, and Malaysia. 

The bill, said Ugandan Member of Parliament Alice Alaso, was only a first step.  Nalule Safia Juuko, vice chair of the Ugandan Parliamentary Committee on Equal Opportunities, seconded that sentiment.

"We might later amend it to include compensations for women subjected to the practice," said Alaso.  "Our goal is to protect these girls, and we will continue to do so."

"But of course we realize as Parliament that an act alone can not do so much, given the fact that the practice has been an issue with that community for years and years," Juuko said.  "So what we also considered as Parliament yesterday, the Speaker asked the prime minister to tell us what the government is going to do in addition to passing the act."

Anyone convicted of female genital mutilation faces a ten-year jail sentence.  If the victim dies during the procedure the person convicted faces a life sentence.

For more information, please see:

AP - Uganda Government Outlaws Female Circumcision - 12 December 2009

CNN - Uganda Bans Female Circumcision - 12 December 2009

UPI - Uganda Bans Female Genital Mutilation - 12 December 2009

VOA - Uganda Bans Female Genital Mutilation - 11 December 2009

BBC - Uganda Bans Female Circumcision - 10 December 2009