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Burao, June 19, 2003 (Sapa-AFP) - The female genital mutilation (FMG) of Somali women has increased the number of sexually transmitted diseases and is a recipe for higher rates of HIV/AIDS, warns a gynaecologist.
Hodan Farah said at the general hospital here: "The genital cut on Somali girls between the age of seven and 10 is a dangerous exercise that has brought misery to the lives of Somali women.
"Besides the health risk, the mutilation traumatizes the young, who are compelled to follow the painful tradition."
Burao is 280 km east of Hargeisa, capital of the breakaway republic of Somaliland, which declared independence from the rest of Somalia in May 1991, five months after dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was toppled. It has yet to be recognized by the outside world.
"Objects used for the excision are not sterilized and could be used to mutilate more women, any of whom could be HIV positive."
Another doctor and four other medical personnel at the hospital agreed, pointing out that there were already HIV cases in Somaliland where, due to a lack of proper awareness campaigns, people are still not aware of the risk of infection.
'Message from Allah'
An elderly religious man immediately dismissed the concerns expressed by the medical personnel.
"AIDS is a hazardous message from Allah to adulterers and other turncoats, who act sexually against nature," said religious elder Abdi Dahir Ali.
"Any person who remains committed to his legally accepted wife would not be affected by the so-called sickness.
Asked about the use of condoms, Ali warned that they too could be infected.
"White people are notorious when speaking about other races. STDs were first brought to Africa by colonial soldiers and AIDS originated from the United States, that is California," claimed Ali.
However, Hodan warned that if the FMG was not legally forbidden in Somaliland, "the practice would inflict disastrous health risks for its women, and society at large."
The Somaliland government estimates that only one percent of its population is HIV positive, but aid agencies say the number is slightly higher.
"The situation is not like in neighboring Kenya, Djibouti and Ethiopia, but if massive awareness and preventive measures are not taken, the number of infected people might increase sharply," said an aid official.
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