Latest news with #circumcision
BBC News
a day ago
- Politics
- BBC News
One month-old baby die from 'sever bleeding' afta FGM
One one month old girl pikin don die on reported complications from suspected Female Genital Mutilation, The Gambia police tok. Di police for statement say two women wey allegedly get hand for di mata now dey for police custody as di police for Wellingara. Dem tok say, "initial findings show say di pikin bin dey allegedly subjected to circumcision and later come start to get serious bleeding. "Dem come rush am go Bundung Maternal and Child Health Hospital wia dem pronounce am dead on arrival". FGM dey illegal for di Gambia and even as recent as last year, parliament slap down attempt to comot di law wey make am illegal. According to di law, di pipo wey do di FGM fit face up to three years for prison but di mata don turn to life sentence if di girl die becos of am. Reactions don come from different sides about dis tori wey di police release. Human rights group Edward Francis Small Centre for Rights and Justice, comment on di police statement. Dem hail di arrest of di suspects say e go make oda pipo wey wan run dis kain parole stop and tink. Dem tok say, "we dey call on di ministry wey dey responsible for children to ginger increase public awareness and monitoring and enforcement of di law so dis kain tin no go happun again". Meanwhile anoda NGO group, Women In Leadership and Liberation (WILL) accuse di authorities say dem fail to protect children . Dem add for statement say, "culture no be excuse, tradition no be shield, dis na violence, pure and simple". Fatou Baldeh wey be WILL Founder tell BBC say, "Parents feel like if dem cut dia girls as babies dem go heal sharparly, also bicos of di law e go dey easier to disguise so pipo no go know". For July 20204, di Gaambia lawmakers reject bill wey bin wan do u-turn on di 2015 ban on FGM. Dis na afta human rights groups and UN ginger di MPs to block di bill wey land di parliament bicos of ginger by some MUslim clerics. Na onr Almameh Gibba table di draft law come and wen dem first introduce am majority of di MPs approve, wey for mean say Di Gambia for be di first kontri to do about turn on di FGM mata But dem no gree for second reading, so dem no even bother to take am to third reading, e just kpai for dia. Di Gambia dey named among di top 10 kontris wit di highest rates of FGM wia 73% of women and girls between di ages of 15 and 49 don face am, according to di United Nations. Amnesty International add say, three in evri four girl pikin for di kontri dey do dia own FGM bifor di age of six. For di most severe part of di FGM, afta dem comot di clitoris and dem cut di genitals dem cut and stitch am close so di woman no go fit knack or enjoy di knacking.
Daily Mail
31-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Mass circumcision ceremony leaves 39 boys dead and dozens more mutilated after botched procedures during tribal 'initiation' in South Africa
The 2025 tribal 'initiation ceremony' where teenage males in South Africa undergo agonising circumcision has ended – with 39 deaths and dozens more boys mutilated. Despite a target being set by the government of zero fatalities this year, the figure is still a huge drop on last year where 93 died, while a total of 361 boys have died in the last five years. Gruesome complications in 2024 led to 11 penis amputations after unskilled traditional 'surgeons' used old spears and razor blades to perform the eye-watering rituals. Thousands more have ended up in hospital since 2020 after the twice-yearly three-month seasons of initiation which ends with the circumcision. The ceremony, known as Ulwaluko, is typically carried out by Xhosa people and marks the transition from boyhood to manhood. Boys generally undergo the centuries old ritual aged between 16 and 26. Without undergoing the ceremony they are not allowed to sit in on tribal meetings, take part in some social activities or get married. The rituals have been held for centuries in secret in specially built huts away from the villages where nobody except the tribal elders and the young initiates can enter. The government lays the blame on criminal gangs who have set up hundreds of unregulated illegal initiation schools with untrained 'medics' who botch the circumcisions. They ignore the law that anyone aged under 16 cannot undergo the ritual and charge high prices to families to carry out Ulwaluko often with fatal or horrific end results. Gangrene, sepsis and dehydration are the main cause of death even though it has been reported boys who back out have also been stabbed, drowned or beaten to death. There are hundreds of reports a year of illegal schools kidnapping boys as young as 12 and carrying out the surgery then forcing the parents to pay to get their sons back. Although there are calls to ban the dangerous practices, some have argued that it is an important part of Xhosa life. The Customary Initiation Act has been introduced to make it illegal for unregistered initiation schools to be set up and all traditional surgeons must now be qualified. Police now have the powers to shut down the illegal schools and arrest the principals. Every year tens of thousands of boys undergo the sacred ceremony which dates back for generations despite the very high death rate. The Minister for the Department of Governance & Traditional Affairs had set a target of zero deaths for 2025 in registered schools while police shut down illegal schools. According to a tribal chief Sipho Mahlangu, Deputy Chair of the National House of Traditional Leaders, 80% of initiates who die or mutilated are the victims of the illegal schools. Most die due to severe dehydration after being forced not to drink to prevent urination after circumcision. The government has pledged to cut the number of illegal schools preying on teenagers in half from 429 by 2029. Although boys have a choice as to whether they undertake the initiation there is huge peer pressure and those who refuse are named Inkwenkwe or 'boy' – a harsh insult. Traditional surgeons charge parents to take the boys away for up to three weeks to teach them survival skills and how to behave as a man then perform the dreaded 'snip'. Scotty Dawka, 19, went to an initiation school despite having seen a TV programme on penile amputations and told a local reporter: 'I was of course very scared of going. 'In my community many boys went through the initiation before me and I wanted to be the same as them. I wanted to be looked up to as a man in my village by the elders. 'It was very painful to go through and I fell ill but I was treated and survived' he said. Anne Kumalo had her 16-year-old son kidnapped when he went to a local store along with 22 other boys and taken to an illegal initiation school 20 miles away in Soweto. She said: 'I was charged R1000 (£43) to get him back or warned he would be killed and when police found the school the boys had been badly treated, whipped and beaten'. Political party Action SA's Eastern Cape leader Athol Trollip said: 'The bulk of deaths are caused by illegal initiation schools run by opportunistic and unqualified individuals. 'Now all the schools have to be registered and the surgeons properly trained,' he said. In launching this year's winter initiation season, the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Mr Velenkosini Hlabisi vowed to reduce the death toll greatly. He said: 'All initiation schools are accountable and any school that contravenes the law and endangers lives then the law is unequivocal and they will be closed down at once. 'We cannot accept any more deaths and owe it to these young men and their families to ensure their journey into adulthood is safe, dignified and respected and of course safe. 'We cannot bring back the lives lost last year or before that but we can honour them by ensuring that no family has to ever endure going through that pain ever again,' he added. Former South African President Nelson Mandela wrote about the spiritual meaning of his own circumcision as a teenager before becoming accepted as a freedom fighter. Those who have undergone the sacred ritual are sworn to secrecy and considered tribal outcasts and severely beaten or killed if they tell anyone what the process entails. The worst of the injuries occur from botched circumcisions carried about by tribal 'nurses' who may use the same spear for many boys which cause mass infection. The wounds are tightly wrapped with bandages that cuts off the blood supply to the area and within 10 hours the genitals can become gangrenous and need amputating. Many initiates do not seek medical treatment despite being in agony for up to 10 days having been told that if it 'falls off' that it will grow back but then they die from sepsis. In the summer season from November to January 28 boys died, while 11 boys have died since May, with the figure for penile amputations unreported.
The Independent
16-07-2025
- The Independent
Fraudster who carried out illegal circumcisions jailed
Mohammed Alazawi has been jailed for nine years for impersonating a doctor and performing unsafe and illegal circumcisions on infants and older boys. Alazawi was convicted of 40 offences, including multiple counts of fraud, wounding with intent, and assault, after admitting 20 charges and being found guilty of a further 20. Between October 2016 and January 2022, he carried out non-therapeutic male circumcisions using inherently unsafe and unsanitary methods, despite the procedure being unregulated in the UK. He posed as a doctor, presenting bogus documents from a Jordanian hospital, and notably performed a circumcision on a two-week-old baby on a coffee table. The seven-year investigation by West Midlands Police, prompted by victims suffering complications like infections, involved families from across the UK and as far as Canada.
The Independent
16-07-2025
- The Independent
Fake doctor jailed for carrying out unsafe and illegal circumcisions
A man has been jailed for nine years after a court found he had been impersonating a doctor to carry out unsafe and illegal circumcisions on infants and older boys. Mohammed Alazawi, 54, was convicted of 40 offences, including multiple counts of fraud, wounding with intent, administering and supplying prescription-only medicines, and assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday. He admitted 20 charges and was found guilty of a further 20 following a trial. Between October 2016 and January 2022, Alazawi performed non-therapeutic male circumcisions, a procedure in the UK that is unregulated and does not legally require a qualified medical practitioner. But the court heard that his methods were inherently unsafe and dangerous, transforming what should have been routine, sanitary procedures into unlawful assaults. In sentencing, the judge described his actions as a profound breach of trust and a serious threat to public safety. Posing as a doctor, Alazawi secured parental consent for these operations. The court heard how he would present to parents a bogus document attributed to Istiklal Hospital in Jordan that stated he was trained in circumcision. He explained to police after his arrest that he was a 'circumcision expert and a taxi driver'. Among the operations he performed was the circumcision of a two-week-old baby on a coffee table. Speaking after the verdicts in May, Judge Perrins said that the law around male circumcision should be changed because it 'remains almost entirely unregulated'. Anja Hohmeyer, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said Alazawi had carried out circumcisions in 'unsafe, unsanitary and harmful ways', which demonstrated 'a blatant disregard for the safety of his young patients and the impact of his actions on his victims, their families, and communities'. Detective Inspector Neil Hunt from West Midlands Police 's public protection unit, who led the investigation into Alazawi spanning seven years, said: 'Some of his young victims went on to have complications following the procedures, like infections, and it was after one such incident in Birmingham that we were alerted and began an investigation. 'These complex enquiries went on to find many victims from across the UK. 'It has been the bravery and support of these families, some from as far away as Canada, in supporting our investigation which has seen this perpetrator jailed today.'
BBC News
16-07-2025
- BBC News
Fake doctor jailed for illegal circumcisions
A fake medic who carried out a number of unsafe and illegal circumcisions across the UK, including the West Midlands, has been jailed for nine years. Mohammed Alazawi, 54, of Hampton Road, Ilford, was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on Wednesday. He had admitted 20 charges, but was found guilty of 20 further charges included multiple counts of fraud, wounding with intent, administering and supplying prescription only medicines, and assault occasioning actual bodily carried out the non-therapeutic male circumcisions between October 2016 and January 2022 on baby boys and older male children. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said the defendant was able to carry out these procedures because non-therapeutic male circumcision is is no requirement for the procedure to be carried out by a medical practitioner, but Alazawi told parents he was a doctor before they consented to the circumcisions. 'Unsafe, unsanitary and harmful' "The circumcisions carried out in this case were unlawful because of the manner in which the defendant carried them out," A CPS spokesperson said. "This changed them from an ordinary circumcision, which would be safe and sanitary, to a procedure which was inherently unsafe or dangerous and therefore unlawful."Anja Hohmeyer, from the CPS, said Alazawi had carried out circumcisions in "unsafe, unsanitary and harmful ways", which demonstrated "a blatant disregard for the safety of his young patients and the impact of his actions on his victims, their families, and communities".Det Insp Neil Hunt from West Midlands Police's public protection unit led the investigation into Alazawi, which spanned seven said: "Some of his young victims went on to have complications following the procedures, like infections, and it was after one such incident in Birmingham that we were alerted and began an investigation."These complex enquiries went on to find many victims from across the UK. "It has been the bravery and support of these families, some from as far away as Canada, in supporting our investigation which has seen this perpetrator jailed today." Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
