Dawoodi Bohra Forum

This survey on Female Genital Mutilation is ONLY for LADIES. You can forward it to the ladies who you think might be interested.

Dear Bohra Sisters,

Hi, I am writing on behalf of my friend Aarefa Johari who is interested in researching the subject of khatna on girls/female circumcision in the Dawoodi Bohra community. Aarefa is also a Bohra and she has created an online survey to understand the extent, purpose and impact of the practice of khatna.

I request you to participate in this survey by filling in this questionnaire: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1JA6RNq ... 8/viewform.

It will take just 5-7 minutes of your time.

Since this is a very personal and sensitive subject matter that almost no one talks about, the survey is completely anonymous and you will not be asked for any personal identification in order to complete it. Thank you!

Will appreciate all the assistance you can offer in this.

Warm regards

Shirrin

Behno - I took this survey on khatna. It is worth it to taking a few minutes of your time. Someone really took time to ask very relevant questions - thanks Shirin for posting this.

request you to participate in this survey by filling in this questionnaire: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1JA6RNq ... 8/viewform .

What happened with this khatna survey that the women took - what are the findings? is there a report of this somewhere?

Saggumma
WHy donot you post this link here instead of asking people to visit

One has to be logged in to LinkedIn to view posts, and then they know who is viewing posts. Why not make it easier for posting relevant information right here, cut and paste, or at least provide a useful link.

Bohra women ask for law to stop FGM
28 Dec 2015, Hindustan Times (Mumbai) MANOJ R NAIR
A group of Dawoodi Bohra women have started an online petition against female genital mutilation (FGM), sometimes called female circumcision, in the community. While the practice is widespread in east African countries, the Bohras, a Shia group, are apparently the only Indians to follow the custom.
Till Sunday, more than 22,000 people had signed the petition which asks the union government to pass a law to end the custom. The petition will be submitted to the government after 25,000 signatures. This is the second such petition; an earlier campaign was ignored by the community’s religious establishment.
Across the world, there have been movements to ban the practice. In the US, women petitioned the government in 2014, asking to create rules that will make it tough for families to take their daughters to other countries for the surgery. A similar petition in the UK a few years ago estimated that over 60,000 women in the country were subjected to the mutilation.
How did the practice start among Bohras? There are only theories. Among the countries with the highest prevalence is Yemen which was the original seat of the line of spiritual leaders, called Dais or Syednas, who lead the Bohras. Scholars have said the custom has nothing to do with religion because other Muslim sects do not practice it, neither do other Shia groups. Saifuddin Insaf, a member of the Reformist Bohra community, said that he once had a discussion with the late Islamic scholar and fellow Bohra Dr Asgar Ali Engineer on the custom. “I was given to understand by Dr Asghar Ali Engineer that since the Bohras are a business community, the men used to travel a lot, leaving their families in their hometowns,” said Insaf. “The custom probably was forced on the women in the belief that this would control their libido and preserve marital fidelity.”
Insaf said the surgery is carried out surreptitiously, often in unhygienic conditions by illiterate women, and there are whispers about botched operations. “Though I have no proof, there have been reports that children died because instruments used in the operations were not sterilised,” said Insaf, who added that more women in the community are now talking against it. Masooma Ranalvi, one of the writers of the petition, said they want statutory provisions against the practice. “The first petition was created by an individual and was anonymous; this was done for a reason: fear. But hats off to her,” said Ranalvi. “She had addressed it to the Syedna and was ignored. We are a group and we are petitioning the government.”
Most Bohras do not want to discuss the issue. When this reporter called up prominent members of the community, including lawyers and businessmen, they did not want to talk about it. The Mumbai office of the Syedna also declined to comment. “We want to end the secrecy,” said Ranalvi. “A lot of young people are with us, there is angst.” Civil rights activist Shabnam Hashmi, who has signed the online petition, said, “If the practice is happening, some kind of legal remedy should be there.” Hashmi said that there are already laws that women can access to stop the custom. “The Domestic Violence Act is there; there are enabling laws,” she said, relating how she successfully fought a 9-year-long legal battle to adopt a girl though Muslim personal law does not recognise a adopted child as equal to a biological one.