As Moris scolded the perplexed barber, neighbors began to gather around. Moris's uncle decided to postpone the operation for one day, but Moris managed to persuade her own father to intervene and prevent it. Successes like these follow a key court decision in 1997 upholding a decree by the Minister of Health that outlawed FGM done without a prescription from a senior gynecologist. With UN and US aid, Egypt's health ministry has begun extensive education campaigns, pushing to get anti-FGM voices into the mainstream media. There are major impediments to ending FGM, however.
Parliament has yet to consider passing a law banning it outright.
Moreover, the Ministry's decree, which is rarely enforced, and the loophole, allowing the operation to be carried out with a simple signature, has been used by advocates of FGM to continue the practice. But the growing threat of prosecution for malpractice, including botched operations, has made some village barbers and midwives, who usually do the operations, cautious. Salib says true success will come only when the first generation of uncircumsized girls grow up and find husbands. The Monitor does not endorse the sites behind these links. We offer them for your additional research.