CAIRO (AFP) - Egypt on Thursday finally banned all female circumcision, the widely-practised removal of the clitoris which just days ago cost the life of a 12-year-old girl.
Officially the practice, which affects both Muslim and Christian women in Egypt and goes back to the time of the pharoahs, was banned in 1997 but doctors were allowed to operate 'in exceptional cases'.
On Thursday, Health Minister Hatem al-Gabali decided to ban every doctor and member of the medical profession, in public or private establishments, from carrying out a clitoridectomy, a ministry press official told AFP.
Any circumcision 'will be viewed as a violation of the law and all contraventions will be punished,' said the official, adding that it was a 'permanent ban'.
A survey in 2000 said the practice was carried out on 97 percent of the country's women.
97% sounds pretty exceptional.
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