In India 'khatna' is practiced in the Dawoodi Bohra, a sub-sect of the Shia Muslim community from Gujarat that originally migrated from Yemen. Most Bohras practice the FGM Type1 in which the prepuce (tip of the clitoris) is removed though at times the cut gets deeper when the child resists. The procedure is performed by mullanis (women who have a semi-religious standing), by daimas (midwives) and sometimes by doctors when the girl is between 6-9 years old.
Bohras believe that 'khatna’ is not same as Female Genital Mutilation as they cut the tip of the clitoris (Type1) and therefore similar to male circumcision. Contrary to that belief, research tells us that even Type1 of FGM is anatomically equivalent to penectomy (surgical removal of the penis). The religious clergy claims that FGC is a ritualistic practice that comes from 10th century book of jurisprudence called ‘Daim-al-islam’ (though there is no mention of it in the Quran). The justification that it is done for hygiene reasons is also untrue as no medical study validates the claim.

“It will take just a few seconds. And it will only hurt a little bit.” That was all my mother told me as I was held down on a stranger’s rug one afternoon, moments before the old lady’s blade-wielding hand came up between my legs and stole the hood of my clitoris forever....
Now, nearly twenty years later, it is impossible to think of that day without feeling shudders of bitterness, frustration and outrage. My grandmothers were superstitious, true, but how could my mother – an educated, intelligent, urban woman – let them talk her into violating her daughter’s sexuality?

SAHIYO schrieb:

Female Genital Cutting (FGC) or Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is the practice of removing parts of a woman’s external genitalia for various ritualistic purposes....

The World Health Organisation (WHO) considers FGC to be a violation of women’s rights...

Dawoodi Bohras use the word “khatna” or circumcision to refer to the removal of the prepuce from the genitalia of both boys and girls.

We (our group) believe, however, that “female circumcision” cannot be directly compared with male circumcision. As a term, it does not acknowledge the dangers and the harm caused by the act of cutting the clitoris or its hood....

Dawoodi Bohras practice Type I FGM/FGC: in the majority of cases, it part of the prepuce or the clitoral hood that is cut...

HOW IS KHATNA DIFFERENT FROM MALE CIRCUMCISION?
Some Dawoodi Bohras perceive the cutting of the clitoral hood to be the female equivalent of removal of the the male foreskin. Among Dawoodi Bohras, both are performed at an age when children are not old enough to give consent for it – approx. age 6 to 9 for girls and infancy for boys.
The underlying ideology behind the two practices also differs.

The underlying ideology behind the two practices also differs.
Until 2016, the Dawoodi Bohra religious leadership did not publicly explain why khatna is mandatory for girls in the community. In 2016, the religious clergy has claimed that FGC is done for hygiene purposes.

Also most community members, on the contrary, believe that the ritual is meant to moderate a woman’s sexual urges and prevents her from having pre-marital or extra-marital affairs.

Male circumcision, on the other hand, is not linked to a man’s sexual desire or pleasure and is not known to affect the sex organ.

FGC does damage the sex organs

FGC does damage the sex organs, inhibiting pleasure and potentially causing severe pain and complications for women’s sexual and reproductive health.

GM does damage the sex organs, inhibiting pleasure and potentially causing severe pain and complications for the individual’s sexual and reproductive health.

Further, the harmful health implications of FGC cannot be compared with that of male circumcision.