スーダン、女性器切除禁止へ　長い闘いにようやく終止符

【ハルツームＡＦＰ＝時事】スーダン暫定政府が、同国で古くから慣習とされてきた女性器切除（FGM）を禁止した。この刑事法改正によって、女性器切除術を行った者には最長3年の禁錮刑と罰金が科されることになる。（写真は資料写真）
　重要な分岐点となった今回の動きは、強権支配を続けてきたオマル・ハッサン・アハメド・バシル前大統領が約１年前に軍のクーデターで解任されて以来、行われてきた改革の一環だ。バシル氏の失脚につながった大規模デモでは、女性たちが主導的な役割を果たした。
　女性器切除禁止を受け、女性人権活動家のザイナブ・バドレッディンさんは、「スーダンの女性たちにとって非常に重要な一歩であり、長い道のりだったことを示している」と語った。

■鮮明なトラウマ体験、問題は術後も
　女性器切除は、廃止を求める人権運動の高まりに反して、アフリカや中東、アジアの一部地域で今も広く行われている。
　現在は４人の子どもの母親である４０代のハカム・イブラヒムさんが、スーダンの大半の少女たち同様、おぞましいと非難される女性器切除の犠牲になったのは、７歳の時だった。イブラヒムさんは儀式を受けた時のトラウマ的な体験を鮮明に覚えている。
　首都ハルツームのその地区の女性たちはイブラヒムさんの儀式の前夜、染料を使ってイブラヒムさんの両手にタトゥーを施しながら、歌ったり泣いたりしていた。
　当日、イブラヒムさんは小さな部屋に連れて行かれた。そこには白い服を着た女性がいて、イブラヒムさんの外性器を切除する手術を行った。「ベッドに寝かされ、全身に耐え難い痛みが走った」「痛みは１週間ずっと続いた」
　この慣習は長年、特に地方の集落で、少女の「通過儀礼」とみなされたり、貞操を守る方法と考えられたりしてきた。国連によると、スーダンでは少女１０人中９人近くが、女性器切除の犠牲になっている。
　最も乱暴な方法では陰唇からクリトリスまで切除され、膣口は縫合して閉じられる。施術は不衛生な環境下で麻酔なしで行われることが多く、嚢胞（のうほう）や感染症が生じることも少なくない。また施術を受けた女性たちは後に性交痛に悩まされたり、出産時に合併症にかかったりもする。

■人権侵害
　人権団体は長年、女性器切除は多くの身体的、心理的、性的問題を引き起こし、最悪の場合は死さえもたらす野蛮な行為だとして強く非難してきた。
　スーダンでは２０１５年に女性器切除反対派が禁止寸前にまで持ち込み、議会で禁止法案が審議された。だが、一部のイスラム教指導者の圧力に屈したバシル前大統領が法案を握りつぶした。
　とはいえ多くの宗教指導者らは、長年にわたり女性器切除に反対の声を上げている。人権活動家のシェリーン・アブバクルさん（２８）は「ＦＧＭを犯罪とみなすことは、信仰と矛盾しない。女性の割礼を認める（宗教的な）記述はない」と話す。
　スーダンのＦＧＭ撲滅運動「サリーマ」のマナル・アブデル・ハリムさんは「法改正を非常に喜んでいるが、法律だけでは十分でない」と話し、「地域社会の認識を高める運動をさらに行う必要がある」と続けた。
　バドレッディンさんは、女性たちに施術を勧めて圧力をかける親族にまで刑罰の対象を拡大すべきだと主張している。
　イブラヒムさんも同意見で、「法改正によって、少女たちの体を生まれたままの良好な状態に保つべきだと人々が気付くことを願っている」と話した。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2020/05/11-13:14）

Hakam Ibrahim was seven when, like most Sudanese girls, she became a victim of female genital mutilation -- an age-old practice decried as horrific that the post-revolution government is now banning.
A mother-of-four in her 40s, Ibrahim vividly recalls the traumatic experience of what remains a widespread ritual in parts of Africa, the Middle East and Asia despite a concerted human rights campaign to end it.
The night before it happened, Ibrahim remembers, women from her neighbourhood in the capital Khartoum were singing and ululating as they drew ceremonial henna tattoos on her hands.
On the day itself, she was taken to a small room where a woman in a white robe performed the operation to remove Ibrahim's external genitalia.
I was put on a bed and felt excruciating pain jolting through my body, she told AFP. The pain lasted an entire week.
The practice has long been viewed, especially in rural communities, as a rite of passage for girls and a way to preserve their chastity.
In Sudan nearly nine out of 10 girls fall victim to what is known as FGM or genital cutting, according to the United Nations.
In its most brutal form, it involves the removal of the labia and clitoris, often in unsanitary conditions and without anesthesia.
The wound is then sewn shut, often causing cysts and infections and leaving women to suffer severe pain during sex and childbirth complications later in life.
Rights groups have for years decried as barbaric the practice which can lead to myriad physical, psychological and sexual complications and, in the most tragic cases, death.
- 'Rights violation' -
Last week, Sudan's cabinet approved amendments to the criminal code that would punish those who perform the operation with up to three years in prison and a fine.
It is expected to soon be ratified by Sudan's transitional authorities.
The watershed move is part of reforms that have come since the ouster more than a year ago of strongman Omar al-Bashir after mass demonstrations in which women took a leading role.
It is a very important step for Sudanese women and shows that we have come a long way, said women's rights activist Zeinab Badreddin.
The United Nations Children's Fund also welcomed the landmark decision.
This practice is not only a violation of every girl child's rights, it is harmful and has serious consequences for a girl's physical and mental health, said Abdullah Fadil, the UNICEF Representative in Khartoum.
The UN says FGM is widespread in many countries across Africa, the Middle East and Asia, affecting the lives of millions of girls and women.
In Sudan, rights campaigners say the custom has over the past three decades spread to remote regions where it was previously not practised, including Sudan's Nuba mountains.
- Political upheaval -
In neighbouring Egypt, as in several other countries, genital cutting is now prohibited. A 2008 law punishes it with up to seven years in prison.
Sudan's anti-FGM advocates came close to a ban in 2015 when a bill was discussed in parliament but then shot down by Bashir who caved in to pressure from some Islamic clerics.
Yet many religious leaders have spoken out against genital cutting over the years.
Criminalising FGM does not contradict religion, and there is no (religious) text that permits female circumcision, said 28-year-old rights activist Sherine Abu Bakr.
It is a practice that should be fought, especially with the change happening in the country.
Sudan has been shaken by political upheaval -- most notably the April 2019 military ouster of Bashir following mass protests against his 30-year-rule, and the dismantling of his ruling Islamist party.
A transitional administration including a civilian-majority ruling body has since August taken the reins to steer the country through a mountain of social, economic and political challenges.
While we are very happy with the amendments, the law alone is not enough, said Manal Abdel Halim of the Salima initiative fighting FGM in Sudan.
We still need more community awareness campaigns, she added.
Badreddin also believes punishments should be extended to family members who pressure their female relatives into undergoing the operations.
Ibrahim agreed. I hope that the amendments help people realise that people should keep their girls in the good physical condition in which they were born, she said.