The Fastest Growing Import into the United States from Muslim Countries: Female Genital Mutilation – CHILD ABUSE IN AMERICA
By Elizabeth Yore, International Child Protection Attorney
The mutilation of little girls’ genitals defies all standards of humanity, and cries out as a hideous violation of human rights according to the United Nations, World Health Organization, UNICEF, European Union and The US Center for Disease Control.
As of today, over 231 million women and girls globally have undergone FGM. The practice of FGM is near-universal in countries like Somalia, Guinea, and Djibouti. The highest percentages are linked to communities with heritage in Egypt, Somalia, and Ethiopia. 98% of all Somalia females undergo FGM. Make no mistake, when they arrive in the U.S. they bring this barbaric practice with them.
However, FGM is endemic and also concentrated in another 31 African and Middle Eastern nations, FGM is known to exist in pockets of Asia, Eastern Europe, and among migrant diaspora populations globally, according to the World Health Organization. It is a wholly unnecessary brutal pandemic, but a barbaric cultural imperative imposed on young girls.
As the great human rights advocate, Ayaan Hirsi Ali repeatedly warns: “IN SOMALIA, EVERY GIRL IS MUTILATED AND THE PRACTICE IS ALWAYS JUSTIFIED IN THE NAME OF ISLAM.” Ayaan also states: “THAT THE SUPPRESSION OF FEMALE SEXUALITY IS A BIG THEME WITH THE IMAMS.”
Our own CDC estimates that 513,000 women and girls are at risk for this procedure in the U.S.. The sharp increase in these estimates is primarily attributed to rising immigration from countries where FGM/C is traditionally practiced.
It is conducted on unsuspecting little girls from the age of 3-12 in secrecy through covert networks in the United States. This new and disturbing phenomenon was nonexistent 35 years ago in the US. Yet, despite the fact that it causes a lifetime of physical complications and emotional problems, the procedure has grown fourfold since 1990 with few, if any, health care officials looking for it or able to treat it. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the horrifying case in Detroit where a Muslim doctor was arrested for practicing female genital mutilation was just the tip of the iceberg in this country. The CDC states that the massive increase in the monstrous practice of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) is “wholly a result of rapid growth in the number of immigrants from FGM/C-practicing countries living in the United States.” Virtually all of the countries listed by the CDC were dominated by Muslims.
Americans must recognize that this hideous practice is a cruel and savage form of child abuse-pure and simple. Children are trafficked to their mutilators in secret in the U.S. because their perpetrators know that this is illegal.
Female genital mutilation has arrived on our American shores. FGM is secretly and cruelly perpetrated on innocent little girls by family members. Its stated purpose is to deny females sexual pleasure. 42 U.S. states currently have explicit laws criminalizing Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting.Additionally, at the federal level, the practice is banned across the entire United States under the STOP FGM Act of 2020. This federal law makes it a crime to perform or conspire to perform FGM on a minor, or to transport a girl out of the country for the procedure. However, very few prosecutions have occurred at the state and federal level.
Official Policy of the U.S. Department of State:
The Department of State defines female genital mutilation and cutting (FGM/C) as all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. FGM/C is typically carried out on young girls between infancy and adolescence, and occasionally on adult women. FGM/C is a human rights abuse and form of violence against women and girls (VAWG). The practice has no health benefits and can lead to both immediate and long-term physical and mental health problems.
What Is the U.S. Government’s View on FGM/C?
The U.S. Government opposes FGM/C, no matter the type, degree, or severity, or the motivation for performing it, whether for cultural, religious, or other reasons. The U.S. Government considers FGM/C to be a human rights abuse, and a form of VAWG and child abuse.
Why Is the United States Providing This FGM/C Notice?
The United States is committed to ending FGM/C to protect the health and well-being and advance the rights of girls and women globally. The United States is working at home and abroad to prevent and respond to FGM/C and to help raise awareness about the serious, damaging effects of FGM/C on women and girls.
What Are the Criminal Consequences of Performing or Assisting in FGM/C?
It is against U.S. law to perform, attempt to perform, or conspire to perform FGM/C on a girl under the age of 18, or to send her outside the United States for the purpose of FGM/C (18 USC § 116). It is also against the law for a parent, guardian, or caretaker to facilitate or to consent to FGM/C. Violation of the law is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, fines, or both. There is no exception for performing FGM/C because of religion, custom, ritual, tradition or standard practice.
Additionally, 42 states have laws criminalizing FGM/C and FGM/C constitutes a form of child abuse, which is prohibited in every state. It is essential that prosecutors protect little girls and prosecute these mutilators. It’s a HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION. We Should Act Accordingly and Swiftly.
What Are the Immigration Consequences of Violating the Laws Against FGM/C?
Violating the laws against FGM/C – even without a criminal conviction – may have significant immigration consequences, including making one inadmissible to or removable from the United States, as well as ineligible for some immigration benefits. ****It’s time to demand removal from the U.S. for these crimes!
HEALTH IMPACT of FGM:
What Are the Health Effects of FGM/C?
Immediate effects may include blood loss, severe pain, fever, shock and sometimes death. Long-term health problems can include urinary or other infections, infertility, painful menstruation or sexual intercourse, and possible need for later surgeries. In addition, women and girls who have experienced FGM/C are significantly more likely to experience difficulties during childbirth and their babies are more likely to die as a result of the practice. Finally, the practice can leave girls and women with long-term psychological challenges, including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, low self-esteem, or other challenges.
Short-term Health Impacts Long-term Health Impacts Severe pain Obstetric complications Excessive bleeding Pain or lack of pleasure during sex Difficulties with urination Problems with menstruation Shock Mental health concerns Risk of infections Urinary tract infections Swelling of genital tissues Infertility Risk of death Chronic infections
We must demand the full force of the laws to prosecute these crimes against innocent and unsuspecting children.
CALL-FBI or www.FBI.gov/FGM to help identify, apprehend and prosecute the perpetrators of this terrible crime. Information about FGM can also be confidentially be shared via the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline, which answers calls 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at 1-800-4-A-CHILD (800-422-4453).