Why lady be obliged to please her husband? SC questions practice of female genital mutilation

Agencies

July 30, 2018

New Delhi, Jul 30: The Supreme Court on Monday while hearing the writ petition filed against the practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) questioned the practice and said that a lady cannot be made available to her husband like a cattle.

The petition filed in the top court has sought issuance of orders to impose a complete ban on the practice of Female Genital Mutilation throughout India and for making it a cognizable non-compoundable and non-bailable offence.

Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra, who was heading the bench of the top court, said that "why should a lady make such an effort that she is available to her husband as cattle. Why should only a lady have obligation to please her husband."

The CJI said that the practice is against gender sensitivity and is possibly hazardous for health.

Justice D Y Chandrachud also opposed the practice and while hearing the case observed that "genital is central of identity. So this is against one's identity."

Meanwhile, Attorney General KK Venugopal said that the government supports the ban on female genital mutilation.

FGM or 'khatna' is a process which involves the removal of skin from the clitoral hood of women, at the age of seven or between the ages of six and 12. It is generally practiced in the Bohra community.

The resolutions passed in December 2012, by the United Nations General Assembly regarding the rights of the children banning Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) or Khatna or female circumcision, of which India is a signatory and has also ratified UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights and issue appropriate guidelines to this effect.

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dear SC

Hellooooo.....concentrate on other major issues rather than interfering family matters.

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Elusive bamboo shrimp resurfaces in Mangaluru estuary after 70 years

News Network

December 7,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 7: A rare bamboo shrimp has been rediscovered on mainland India more than 70 years after it was last reported, confirming for the first time the presence of Atyopsis spinipes in the country. The find was made by researchers from the Centre for Climate Change Studies at Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, during surveys in Karnataka and Odisha.

The team — shrimp expert Dr S Prakash, PhD scholar K Kunjulakshmi, and Mangaluru-based researcher Maclean Antony Santos — combined field surveys, ecological assessments and DNA analysis to identify the elusive species. Their findings, published in Zootaxa, resolve decades of taxonomic confusion stemming from a 1951 report that misidentified the species as Atyopsis moluccensis without strong evidence.

The shrimp has now been confirmed at two locations: the Mulki–Pavanje estuary near Mangaluru and the Kuakhai River in Bhubaneswar. Historical specimens from the Andaman Islands, previously labelled as A. moluccensis, were also found to be misidentified and actually belong to A. spinipes.

The rediscovery began after an aquarium hobbyist in Odisha spotted a shrimp in 2022, prompting systematic surveys across Udupi, Karwar and Mangaluru. Four female specimens were collected in Mulki and one in Odisha, all genetically matching.

Researchers warn the species may exist in very small, vulnerable populations as freshwater habitats face increasing pressure from pollution, sand mining and infrastructure development. All verified specimens have been deposited with the Zoological Survey of India for future reference.

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