3/20/2021 0 Comments Its Dawoodi Bohra
Indian Dawoodi Bohra women, scarves on their head, are reflected on a portrait showing three generations of Syednas, or religious head, in a Bohra neighborhood in Mumbai. (Photo Courtesy: AP Images) Circumcision has become a battleground for the two Bohra men vying for succession, the half-brother and the son of the former Syedna.An online petition seeking redressal awaits at least 25,000 more signatures to be heard.But it is not a burning issue for most others not affected by it and those affected are too scare to speak up.
When Bilqis talks about having circumcised her daughter, she contradicts herself sometimes within the same sentence. The slender 50-year-old doctor defends what is widely known as female genital mutilation within her small, prosperous Shia Muslim sect in India, saying it was a mild intervention that amounts to just a little nick. No harm done. Yet she also feels guilt and regret at putting her daughter through a practice the United Nations calls a violation of girls rights. If I had a young daughter now theres no way I would have her circumcised. Bilqis, Doctor Bilqis feels guilt and regret at putting her daughter through a practice the United Nations calls a violation of girls rights. Photo: AP) The Struggle Within The struggle within Bilqis and her Dawoodi Bohra community reflects a growing debate over the best way to address a custom that is proving stubbornly hard to eradicate. At least 200 million girls and women alive today have undergone some form of female genital cutting, according to the United Nations 70 million more than in 2014 because of increases in both population and reporting. Faced with this prospect, experts in the respected international Journal of Medical Ethics in February proposed permitting small female genital cuts that uphold cultural and religious traditions without sacrificing the health and wellbeing of girls and young women. But this approach is already carried out in the Bohra community and is proving highly controversial. Its Dawoodi Bohra Series Of OnlineIt Takes Courage to Register Dissent Masooma Ranalvi, who broke the silence around female genital mutilation in her community last year with a series of online petitions that sought to ban it does not agree. They always say its just a nick and a touch, but there are incidents where things have gone horribly wrong. Masooma Ranalvi, Activist Ranalvi remembers when she was 7, her grandmother promised her candy and ice cream. She came home in tears. Photo: AP) She did not understand what had happened until her 30s, when she read about female genital mutilation. India has no laws banning female circumcision, and Ranalvi says the letters she has sent to Dawoodi Bohra leaders have been ignored. The Affluent Communities Origins in Yemen, Africa The Dawoodi Bohras are an affluent trading community of about a million people concentrated mostly in Mumbai, but also seen across the United States and Europe. In the winding lanes of a Bohra neighborhood, observant men are distinguished by white and gold embroidered caps and beards. Women wear a long, colorful tunic down to their ankles, and a scarf over their hair. ![]() Yet the community is also tightly controlled by an entirely male clergy, with headquarters in upscale Malabar Hill in southern Mumbai. Here, alongside the homes of Bollywood stars and billionaire business tycoons, sits the sprawling Saifee Mahal, the home of the religious head known as the Syedna. When they reach puberty, Bohra boys and girls take an oath of loyalty to the Syedna, and he has a say in almost every aspect of their lives, including marriage and funerals. From Mumbai to New York, medical professionals receive the Syednas blessings to perform circumcision for girls, known as khatna. The procedure goes back to the communitys roots in Yemen and its proximity to northern and northeastern Africa, where the practice is deeply entrenched. Indian Dawoodi Bohra women, scarves on their head, are reflected on a portrait showing three generations of Syednas, or religious head, in a Bohra neighborhood in Mumbai. Photo Courtesy: AP Images) Circumcision has become a battleground for the two Bohra men vying for succession, the half-brother and the son of the former Syedna.
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