Le choix le plus pur – des mères égyptiennes contre l’excision

Le choix le plus pur – des mères égyptiennes contre l'excision
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Les mutilations génitales féminines désignent selon l’OMS « toutes les interventions aboutissant à une ablation partielle ou totale des organes génitaux externes de la femme et/ou toute autre lésion des organes génitaux féminins pratiquée à des fins non thérapeutiques ». Bien qu’elle soit souvent assimilée aux pays de l’Afrique Subsaharienne, la pratique serait pourtant apparue en Égypte, puis propagée vers le sud du continent. S’il est difficile de définir une date d’apparition précise, des papyrus datés du IIe siècle avant J.C. en font cependant mention, attestant de sa présence déjà aux temps des Pharaons.

Mais aujourd’hui encore, environ 90 % des femmes âgées de 15 à 65 ans ont subi une des formes de ces mutilations en Égypte, ancrant la pratique au plus profond du tissu social du pays. La « purification », comme qualifiée en arabe, est inlassablement justifiée par des arguments religieux au sein des communautés chrétiennes comme musulmanes, bien qu’aucun des textes sacrés ne la mentionne réellement. Une loi rendant la pratique illégale a pourtant bien été implémentée en 2008 par le gouvernement égyptien, mais depuis, seuls trois membres du corps médical ont été sanctionnés - dont un médecin qui continue encore d’exciser aujourd’hui. Le poids des traditions et l’instabilité politique semblent ainsi entraver la mise en place d’une lutte nationale efficace et s’appuyant sur des initiatives concrètes.

Ce projet photographique se propose alors de donner la parole aux femmes qui, malgré la pression sociale, ont fait le choix du refus. « Le choix le plus pur » est ainsi une série de portraits de femmes victimes d’excision, chacune photographiée avec sa fille, qu’elle a refusé d’exciser, et donc de donner un autre sens à la « purification ». Loin d’être les victimes passives que l’on dépeint trop fréquemment, ces survivantes ont su transformer leur propre expérience traumatique en changement positif. En choisissant de ne plus perpétrer cette pratique, chaque femme est devenue une activiste à sa propre échelle.

 

Irine and Moneka (Al-Barshra). Irine was 12 years old when she underwent FGM. She later lost two of her six children during childbirth. The repercussions of FGM go beyond the psychological trauma it creates. The victims are also prone to obstetric complications, such as tearing, recourse to episiotomy or post-partum haemorrhaging, and the death rate among newborns is higher.

Photo: Chloe Sharrock

 

Uum Malek and Malek (Qalanfil). “It’s easy to forget what you ate that day, or what the weather was like. But forgetting the trauma, forgetting the pain, is impossible.” Uum Malek is conscious of the long-term effects of FGM on her mental health and on her life as a married woman. “This barbaric practice is the cause of so many divorces, I couldn’t inflict such suffering on my own daughter. She has since managed to convince five other women from her village not to subject their daughters to FGM.

Photo: Chloe Sharrock

 

Marsa and Barbara-Anna (Al-Barsha). Marsa and her sister underwent FGM one day after coming home from school. Marsa subsequently suffered serious haemorrhaging and was bedridden for a week. Complications such as infection, viral infections, including HIV, or haemorrhages, fatal in some cases, are not uncommon in rural areas where the cutting is done with unsterilized knives or razor blades.

Photo: Chloe Sharrock

 

Do’a and Baheda (Sandibis). Do’a decided to refuse to have her daughter cut after taking part in a workshop organised by a local NGO. In Egypt, where religion is strongly woven into the social fabric, religious leaders are very influential in the fight against female genital cutting.

Photo: Chloe Sharrock

 

Doaa and Shahid (Ismailia). Doaa underwent FGM when she was ten years old during a big party organised by her family. Her awareness was first raised at university, when she managed to talk about it to other young women for the first time. She later married a man of Palestinian descent and learnt that it was not common practice in other Middle Eastern countries. Her decision not to subject her daughter to FGM was only supported by her husband’s family.

Photo: Chloe Sharrock

 

Fayza and Maha (Alexandria). Fayza, who was married off to an older man at the age of 14, first heard about FGM on her wedding night. It was her husband who pointed to the abnormality of the practice and the consequences it can have on a couple’s marital relations. For Fayza, the new generation is the first to be holding all the cards needed to fight against the practice, especially the freedom to speak out.

Photo: Chloe Sharrock

 

Marina, Yoanna and Febroina (Mallawi). It is thanks to the fight led by the village priest that Marina decided she would not have FGM performed on her daughters. Around ten other women, including her sister, have also decided not to subject their daughters to genital cutting. Social pressure combined with religious arguments are the two main pillars in the fight against FGM.

Photo: Chloe Sharrock

 

Maha and Maryam (Cairo). Maha’s experience of FGM felt like rape, and she developed a complex relationship with her body that has had a lasting impact on her life. When giving birth to Maryam, she refused to undress or to let the doctors touch her because of the trauma. She finally had to have an emergency caesarean. Maha has since learnt to love her body with the help of support workshops, and she now organises awareness raising campaigns among Syrian refugees in Egypt, to prevent the spread of the practice.

Photo: Chloe Sharrock
This article has been translated from French.

Ariane Lavrilleux a participé à ce reportage.