A 70-year-old retired doctor and parents were arrested in Cairo after their 12 years old daughter died during a Female Genital Mutilation surgery.
Female genital mutilation was declared a criminal offence in Egypt in 2008. Any medical practitioner caught in the act will lose his medical license and could also face up to seven years in prison and anyone who requests the mutilation to be performed (be I parents or guardians), could face up to three years in jail.
A survey performed by the United Nations concluded that 87% of females between the age of 15-49 have gone through the mutilation.
Last month, after the arrest of the parents and doctor, they were both released on bail much to the dismay of the disapproving public who were hoping for tough punishment for the lot.
Activists insist that the law would not be taken seriously until guilty culprits were severely punished, until then, young girls will continue to go through this horrible mutilation that can affect both their physical health and mental health for the rest of their lives.