A Pokot girl cries after being circumcised in a village about 80 kilometres from the town of Marigat in Baringo County, October 16, 2014. The traditional practice of circumcision within the Pokot tribe is a rite of passage that marks the transition to wom
A Pokot girl cries after being circumcised in a village about 80 kilometres from the town of Marigat in Baringo County, October 16, 2014. The traditional practice of circumcision within the Pokot tribe is a rite of passage that marks the transition to womanhood and is a requirement for all girls before they marry. More than a quarter of girls and women in Kenya have undergone genital cutting, according to United Nations data. Despite a government ban on the life-threatening practice since 2011, the long-standing tradition remains a rite of passage, particularly among poor families in rural areas. Picture taken October 16, 2014. REUTERS/Siegfried Modola (KENYA - Tags: SOCIETY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)
A Pokot girl cries after being circumcised in a village about 80 kilometres from the town of Marigat in Baringo County, October 16, 2014. The traditional practice of circumcision within the Pokot tribe is a rite of passage that marks the transition to womanhood and is a requirement for all girls before they marry. More than a quarter of girls and women in Kenya have undergone genital cutting, according to United Nations data. Despite a government ban on the life-threatening practice since 2011, the long-standing tradition remains a rite of passage, particularly among poor families in rural areas. Picture taken October 16, 2014. REUTERS/Siegfried Modola (KENYA - Tags: SOCIETY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

An old woman will stand trial in August 2015 before the New South Wales Supreme Court over charges of performing genital mutilation on two young girls. The case, allowed by Chief Justice Tom Bathurst, could set a precedent and result in a landmark decision since it is a first in NSW and possibly in Australia.

The case stems from female circumcision rites performed by the elderly women by mutilating the clitoris of two sisters. The first procedure was done between Oct 18, 2010 and Oct 20, 2011 at Wollongong, while the second procedure on the younger sibling happened between Jan 1, 2012 and Aug 29, 2012 at Baulkham Hills.

If found guilty of genital mutilation, the accused could be jailed for up to 21 years.

Senior Crown Prosecutor Mark Tedeschi said on Tuesday that the case would cover several significant legal issues, including what is covered by the term female genital manipulation which is listed in the country's Crimes Act.

The accused, who uses a walking stick for support, is a retired nurse. She has pleaded not guilty to two counts of mutilating the clitoris and two more counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. Her two victims, now 10 and 8, are represented by a solicitor who wants the two girls from taking the witness stand.

The mutilation of the female genital, which includes procedures that intentionally alter, remove or cause injury to those parts of the woman's anatomy for non-medical reasons, is considered in many countries a violation of human rights. But it still happens mostly in Middle Eastern and African nations.

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In Australia, those involved are of Middle Eastern ethnicity.

Women with mutilated genitals could suffer from urination, fertility and childbirth problems.

In England and Wales, the UK Home Office is consulting nurses and other healthcare workers on the planned introduction of a compulsory reporting requirement for incidents of female genital manipulation after a review in 2013 found that current guidelines released in 2011 that provides safeguards for women and female children is hardly known by stakeholders.

In Egypt, women's rights groups attribute the continuous practice of the procedure despite being banned due to insufficient investigations, prosecutions and convictions, said Rothna Begum, a researcher on women's rights in the Middle East and North African division.

Begum made that comment after a trial ended on Nov 20 that acquitted the doctor and the victim's father over the death of a 13-year-old girl in 2013 who was forced to undergo genital mutilation.