Female genital mutilation is one of the most horrific abuses that can be perpetrated on a young girl. It involves the excision of the clitoris, cutting of the labia and, in its most extreme form, sewing the vaginal lips shut. It has no medical benefits and can lead to severe…
Practitioners of female genital mutilation are believed to be entering Canada to perform the illegal procedure on girls, according to intelligence reports distributed to frontline border officers. The reports obtained by Global News show the Canada Border Services Agency has been on the alert for the arrival of travelling “PFGMs,”…
ICE has launched an outreach program targeting female genital mutilation (FGM) at JFK Airport to safeguard young women from the outlawed practice, according to an ICE news release. The pilot program, called “Operation Limelight USA,” aims to “Safeguard and prevent young girls from being subjected to FGM by informing passengers travelling…
Yasmin Mumed remembers the brand new pale pink dress with embroidered flowers. She remembers the morning trip to the busy market with her grandmother. And the candy she got to eat. It was a sunny, happy day. Then her mind flashes to the dark room filled with women. The blindfold.…
It’s a brutal practice that’s inflicted on thousands of girls and women every year. Female genital mutilation, or female ritual cutting, involves altering or injuring female genital organs. It’s often done by people with no medical training and in filthy places, posing horrendous health risks that can linger for decades.…
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York Border Enforcement Security Taskforce (BEST), with support from HSI’s Human Rights Violators War Crimes Unit (HRVWCU), has initiated Operation Limelight USA, a pilot program designed to bring awareness to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and deter its practice through…
Don’t call Adama Lee Bah a victim. She is most definitely a survivor. Not only that, she is thriving. At age 7, in her home country of The Gambia, Bah was subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM), a cultural practice that involves the mutilation or cutting of the female genitalia…
Elizabeth Ralyea remembers people holding her arms and legs while she screamed and kicked at the woman who approached with a razor blade. She thinks she was about 6, or maybe 8, and she was living with her family in the West African country of Burkina Faso. The elder woman…
A Michigan doctor facing trial for FGM may have mutilated the genitals of up to 100 girls, federal prosecutors say. The mutilations allegedly occurred “during a 12-year conspiracy,” according to prosecutors seeking to keep the doctor and two assistants behind bars until their October trial, the Detroit News reports. “Due…
Female genital mutilation in the US has “more than tripled” in the past two decades, CNN reports. This tripling coincides with the rise of immigration from countries and cultures where FGM is a common practice. “Since 1990, the estimated number of girls and women in the US who have undergone…