NEW DELHI: Supreme Court on Friday agreed to examine a plea to ban practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) or female circumcision prevailing in Muslims, specially Dawoodi Bohra Muslim community and issued notice to Centre and ministry of law and justice seeking their response.A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna & R Mahadevan issued notice on a PIL filed by NGO Chetna Welfare Society which alleged that the practice was not an essential part of Islam and it amounted to violation of rights of children who are forced to undergo FGM. Senior advocate Shashi Kiran and lawyer Sadhana Sandhu, appearing for the organisation told the court that various agencies including WHO, UN agencies and human-rights bodies have repeatedly called for states to prevent, criminalise and eliminate FGM as medical evidence showed that short-term and long-term physical and psychological harms are caused due to it.”It is further submitted that there is not any independent law specifically banning this. The act itself falls under multiple offences relating to causing hurt under BNS, such as sections 113, 118(1), 118(2), and 118(3). Even in Pocso Act, touching the genitalia of a minor for non-medical reasons is a violation. It is submitted that WHO has classified FGM as a gross violation of human rights of girls and women. It violates the fundamental guarantees provided by Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Furthermore, FGM is a serious health concern as it can cause infections, problems relating to childbirth, and other severe physical impairments. In Dec 2012, UNGA adopted a unanimous resolution which called for elimination of FGM,” the petition said.It said approximately 75% of women of the community put their daughters to the barbaric practice of FGM and pleaded the court to intervene to put to end the practice. The petitioner said several countires including US, UK, Australia, and several African countries have banned FGM but India does not have a specific law banning FGM. “Dawoodi Bohras are a religious denomination within Shia Islam. They are the most well-known Muslim community in India to practice FGC, known as Khatna in the community – a ritual that many Islamic scholars around the world do not endorse. While the Quran does not sanction FGC, Daim al-lslam, a religious text followed by this community, does endorses the practice,” the petition said.
