Activists of the Muslim Youth League (MYL) on Sunday forcibly closed down a clinic near the Kozhikode South beach that allegedly performed female genital cutting.

P.K. Firos, general secretary, MYL, said that his organisation would not allow in the State practices that were reportedly prevalent only among primitive tribes in Africa.

He said that the organisation would launch a campaign to create awareness among people about misusing religion to do such inhuman practices.

The MYL activists removed the nameboard of the clinic too.

Probe by Sahiyo

The issue first came to light recently when Sahiyo, a collective in Mumbai working to end the practice, revealed after a detailed investigation that the practice that was more associated with the Dawoodi Bohra community was being practised by other Muslim sects in the country as well.

Sahiyo found during an investigation in February that two doctors in a medical clinic in Kozhikode were performing the procedure of circumcision on boys and girls.

‘Good for married life’

Female circumcision is done because it is allegedly “good for married life”.

The doctors claimed that women from local Muslim sects were coming to their clinic to have it performed on themselves, their daughters and even their daughters-in-law.