Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) comprises procedures that involve altering or injuring the female genitalia for non-medical reasons. It is recognised as a violation of the human rights of girls and women worldwide. For the same offence, an African couple, cannot be named for legal reasons, from Queensland are accused of sending their daughters to Africa to undergo genital mutilation. They have pleaded not guilty to the charge in a Queensland court.

The trial for the couple began at Beenleigh Magistrates Court on Monday with each facing two counts of removing a child from Queensland for genital mutilation. The two girls aged nine and 12 were taken to Africa in April 2015 to undergo the procedure. The trial is expected to last up to five days. The offence was introduced as legislation 18 years ago and carries penalties of up to 14 years imprisonment, but this is the first criminal case to go before the courts in Queensland. Queensland Health said there had been less than 100 cases of females diagnosed with a history of FGM in the past three years, but those figures could be an under-representation, as women might not attend hospital because of cultural or other reasons.

Procedures are mostly carried out on young girls sometime between infancy and adolescence and occasionally on adult women. According to World Health Organisation (WHO), more than 200 million girls and women alive today have been cut in 30 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia where FGM is concentrated. In India, the custom of FGM is practiced by the Dawoodi Bohras, a Shia Muslim Sect. The Bohras practice Khatna because the clitoris is referred to as the ‘Haram ki boti’ or a ‘sinful piece of flesh.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 22, 2018 08:55 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).