Thread by @monaeltahawy

Today is Intl Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation. It hurts my heart that my country of birth #Egypt has the greatest # of women & girls who have been subjected to this crime in the world. They include members of my extended family theguardian.com/society/2016/a… #EndFGM

Fuck virginity, hymens, chastity and "purity" that make parents cut and mutilate their daughters. Ever since I learned members of my extended family were subjected to #FGM, I've been writing, obsessively against it. nytimes.com/2014/11/17/opi… #EndFGM

Feb 6 is International Day of #ZeroToleranceDay for #FGM- female genital mutilation.

I was born in #Egypt, where FGM prevalence is 87.2% among all women aged 15-49.

FGM is about controlling female sexuality. That's it. It is a crime and it must end everywhere. #EndFGM

Just this past week, #Egypt arrested a father and a retired nurse for carrying out FGM on a 15-year-old girl news.trust.org/item/202102021…

Laws are not enough. THERE IS NO REVOLUTION unless the destruction of patriarchy is at its heart, unless consent & agency are at its heart. Without social change, families will continue to cut and mutilate their daughters. #EndFGM

These % prove the lie behind "it's women who cut their daughters, it has nothing to do with men." FGM is fueled by patriarchy #EndFGM #Egypt #ZeroTolerance4FGM

Via
@thegirlgen Change is happening and prevalence rates have decreased among younger women and girls in #Egypt. While 97% of Egyptian women aged 45-49 have undergone #FGM, this figure decreases to 70% for girls and women aged 15-19. #ZeroTolerance4FGM

But that is not enough! Although #Egypt banned #FGM in 2008, the prevalence rate remains one of the highest worldwide at 87%. #EndFGM #ZeroToleranceDay #ZeroTolerance4FGM

- There is NO excuse or justification for #FGM
- There are ZERO benefits for it
- It must NEVER be justified as “tradition” or “religious teaching”
- The goal of FGM is to control female sexuality.
- FGM is a harmful practice that must END. Everywhere.
#EndFGM #ZeroToleranceDay

When I am asked why mothers continue to subject their daughters to a pain and horror they themselves were subjected to, I suggest the question should be instead “Why do the men of the community continue to insist that girls be subjected to #FGM or else they’re “umarriageable”?”

It shatters my heart that so many women I love were subjected to #FGM. It shatters it more when I reflect on how much more the pain was knowing their mothers were complicit and what that exacts - of mothers and daughters.Fight the powers behind FGM at all levels, not just mothers

How do you explain to a girl in #Egypt that we began a revolution to be free while she has a healthy part of her body cut?

THE ONLY PART THE SOLE PURPOSE OF WHICH IS PLEASURE.

Whose fucking revolution is that?!

WHO DOES THE REVOLUTION FREE? feministgiant.com/p/jan25-ten-ye… #EndFGM

This torture in the name of patriarchy MUST END.

Fuck the patriarchy and all who uphold it. Our bodies, our stories, our autonomy, our consent, our agency: fuck the patriarchy

There is no revolution unless sexual liberation and gender liberation are at its heart.

#EndFGM