“A Review of Female Genital Cutting in the Dawoodi Bohra Community: Part 3—the Historical, Anthropological and Religious Underpinnings of FGC in the Dawoodi Bohras”

Abstract

The aim of this third review in a three-part series is to provide a contextual overview of the historical, anthropological, and religious underpinnings of female genital cutting (FGC) in the South Asian and diaspora Dawoodi Bohra communities, a practice referred to as khafd (pronounced khafz). Amatullah Burhanuddin, the wife of Mohammed Burhanuddin, the 52nd Da’i of the Dawoodi Bohras, wrote a guidebook comprised of four volumes for orthodox Bohra religious practices based on Al’Qadi al-Nu’man’s work. A June 6, 2016, press release from the Bohra’s central authority begins by explicitly supporting the practice of khafd, and then continues with the religious requirement to obey the law of the land where one resides. This review looks at FGC within the context of Islamic history, cultural anthropology and geography. It also looks at FGC in the context of the subsects of Islamic jurisprudence. Then, it reviews the Bohra religious foundation for the practice of khafd in terms of the clergy, texts, hadiths, and jurisprudence. Finally, current knowledge with regard to the rationale, timing, setting, and people involved with the Bohra practice of khafd are reviewed.