Thiruvananthapuram: Female genital mutilation (FGM), a criminal offence, is still carried out in several parts of Kerala that claims to be the most literate state in India.

This was revealed in an investigation by Sahiyo, an organization working against the practice. Earlier, Asianet Newsable, a news agency associated with Kerala’s leading television channel Asianet, had reported that FMG is performed in some hospitals in Kozhikode and Malappuram in the state.

The Sahiyo probe showed some hospitals and clinics in the state capital of Thiruvananthapuram also carried out surgeries.

Any form of FGM, if performed for non-medical reasons, is illegal under Indian law, but it continues to be practiced surreptitiously.

Reports also claim that the procedure is carried out through intermediaries or agents found on several popular online forums.

FGM can reportedly be performed for around 6000-8000 rupees at top hospitals in the state capital, while the procedure can be done for just 4000 rupees at a clinic near the beach in Kozhikode.

Several hospitals in Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi also perform FGM but it would cost more than 28,000 rupees in these metropolitan areas.

The Kozhikode clinic is allegedly infamous for performing FGM at low costs. Reports claim that newly-wed women, accompanied by mother-in-laws, visit the clinic to have the procedure. Doctors and staff at the clinic allegedly advise them that the procedure is healthy and improves women’s sex lives.

FGM, also known as female genital cutting and female circumcision, is the ritual involving cutting or removal of some or all of the external female genitalia.

Known as ‘sunnath’ or ‘khatna’ in Kerala, FGM is inflicted often on children who are as young as six. Sometimes carried out by untrained midwives, the procedure is also believed to curb a woman’s sexual drive.

FGM started as a 14th century custom in some African communities and is currently banned in 24 African countries. Many western countries, including the UK and the US have strict laws against the practice.

(Source: newsable.asianetnews.tv)