Activists Call For Investigation Into Case Of Female Genital Mutilation, Saying It Would Be A First For Russia
The girl screamed and struggled but was held down by medical staff and her stepmother when female genital mutilation was performed on her at a medical clinic in June 2019 in Magas, the capital of Ingushetia, a region in Russia’s North Caucasus. Her mother filed criminal charges and the pediatric gynecologist who performed the procedure is on trial. Now, activists have petitioned for a fuller probe into the case by the Investigative Committee, which lawyers say would be a first in Russia. “Female circumcision is crippling and has long-term negative consequences for a woman’s psychological, sexual, and reproductive health,” said Tatyana Savvina, a lawyer with the NGO Pravovaya Initsiativa (Legal Initiative), using a different term for the procedure. “This is a form of gender-based violence.” RFE/RL, 19 May 2020
Doctors treat girl’s circumcision in Ingushetia as exceptional
Female circumcision is not a common practice in clinics of Dagestan and Ingushetia, but doctors can make such surgeries secretly, medics have commented on the story of the nine-year-old girl, who was circumcised in Ingushetia. The child risks having a psychological trauma from the surgery itself and from the public resonance, a Dagestani psychotherapist has pointed out. Caucasian Knot, 20 May 2020
