Jannes Mulder, former internist and oncologist, writing in the Dutch medical journal Medisch Contact, says that girls are still being circumcises, even though the procedure is banned.
The Dutch Council for Public Health estimates that at least 50 girls are circumcised every year, mostly in the Somali community.
In his article, 'A drop of blood', Mulder suggests that since banning the procedure doesn't work, a symbolic form of the practice - pricking the clitorial hood - should be allowed. This would prevent more serious forms of female genital mutilation, and allow medical oversight of the procedure.
His idea was immediately dismissed by Monica Van Berkum, head of Pharos, an information center about preventing and dealing with female circumcision. Van Berkum says that no compromise should be made regarding the integrity of a girl's body. Even a little prick give a completely wrong message, as if that's needed to make a girl fit.
Sources: HLN, Medisch Contact (Dutch)
See also: Netherlands: Imams against female circumcision, Belgium: Female genital mutilation
