re. female circumcision in Morocco

Submitted by Lina (United Kingdom), Jun 10, 2009 at 07:24

Hi Luigi

I too have seen few cases of female circumcision in Morocco (it's more commonly practiced upon males), however I wouldn't rule out a black market for the practice. As it is illegal there, families do often resort to using rogue "doctors", but you will find this is more widespread in the South. Of course the South and the High Atlas are approaching Sub-Sahara and countries like Mauritania (where female circumcision is quite prevalent). I heard that, even in tourist city like Marrakesh, there is a particular site of black market circumcision... as well as pretty much anything else you can think of, hey it's Marrakesh. But they are all very hidden from view.

All in all, female circumcision isn't half as common as it is amongst boys, or in countries like Egypt, Sudan and Eritrea... and it is quite rare in Morocco. The most extreme case that I've heard of was of a Moroccan man who reportedly circumcised his own daughter in the Netherlands.

But as you can see, most cases of female circumcision are performed as the country meets sub-saharan Africa, where the country is more traditional and where both Arabs and Berbers are influenced by old-fashioned rituals.

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