Welcome to the 21st Century

In a stunning display of common sense, Egypt finally instituted a law that really shouldn't be necessary, but apparently is if you live in an ass-backward religiously-driven society:

CAIRO (AFP) - Egypt on Thursday finally banned all female circumcision, the widely-practised removal of the clitoris which just days ago cost the life of a 12-year-old girl.

Officially the practice, which affects both Muslim and Christian women in Egypt and goes back to the time of the pharoahs, was banned in 1997 but doctors were allowed to operate "in exceptional cases".

On Thursday, Health Minister Hatem al-Gabali decided to ban every doctor and member of the medical profession, in public or private establishments, from carrying out a clitoridectomy, a ministry press official told AFP.

Any circumcision "will be viewed as a violation of the law and all contraventions will be punished," said the official, adding that it was a "permanent ban".

A survey in 2000 said the practice was carried out on 97 percent of the country's women.

In the latest fatality, 12-year-old Bedur Ahmed Shaker was taken by her mother to a private clinic in Minya, a town on the Nile south of Cairo, for the operation. She died before she could be transferred to hospital.

Her mother accused the woman doctor of negligence, charging that her daughter's death was linked to the anaesthetic and not the removal of the clitoris, for which she had paid 50 pounds (nearly nine dollars). Police have arrested both women.

Of course, there are some countries where the practice is culturally driven rather than by religion. You'd also think that this was one of those "duh" decisions and Egypt was the last to stop this barbaric tradition. Unfortunately, you'd be wrong. Here's a map from Wiki showing the prevalence of FGC (Female Genital Cutting):Maybe they finally got this Law & Order re-run in Eqypt. Ah, the power of Lenny Briscoe.