DETROIT — Two Minnesota mothers have been charged in an investigation of genital mutilation in an Indian American Muslim sect, months after bringing their daughters to a Detroit-area clinic. A new indictment was unsealed Sept. 14 in Detroit federal court, raising the number of defendants to eight. The eight include…
A brief refresher. Earlier this year, Federal authorities broke up an FGM network in the United States that had mutilated unknown numbers of young girls. The FGM network was linked to the Muslim sect of the Dawoodi Bohra. Now a Canadian survey shows that a disturbingly high percentage of Muslim Dawoodi Bohra women have undergone…
For the first time, the federal government is prosecuting a case of female genital mutilation (FGM). Six people in Michigan — including two doctors, two assistants, and the girls’ mothers — have been charged with participating in the mutilation of two seven-year-old girls. The doctors and families of the children are members…
The defense in Michigan’s genital mutilation case is demanding the government turn over “the most significant piece” of evidence: Photos and videos of the genitalia of the young girls who are listed as the victims in the case. The photos are key evidence because the defendants have always maintained that…
Recently Michigan became the 26th state to ban female genital mutilation. It has been a crime under federal law since 1966, punishable by up to five years in prison. Michigan’s law imposes harsher penalties than the federal law. The Michigan legislation was preceded by the news that Michigan doctors had…
This fall, a United States district judge will hear a landmark case: For the first time, the federal government is pursuing a case of female genital mutilation on American soil. Defense lawyers have said they will argue a freedom of religion defense – setting the stage for an explosive test…
Female genital mutilation (FGM) defies all standards of humanity and has been condemned as a hideous violation of human rights by the United Nations and the World Health Organization. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that more than 513,000 girls are at risk of FGM in the United States. With…
On July 19, U.S. District Court Judge Bernard Friedman denied bail for Dr. Jumana Nagarwala, a physician, as the Detroit Free Press reported, “accused of cutting the genitals of two Minnesota girls as part of a religious procedure.” According to the court, Nagarwala may have subjected as many as 100…
Governor Rick Snyder signed a large bill package last week that makes female genital mutilation a felony in Michigan, but he could see more bills on this issue headed to his desk. The additional bills deal with police training and parental rights. Democratic state Representative Vanessa Guerra sponsored the legislation, HB 4640,…
The FBI’s investigation into genital mutilation of girls, some as young as six-years-old, has expanded beyond the original case in Michigan where two doctors were arrested and indicted in April. Girls from Minnesota were taken to Michigan for “treatment” by their parents. A refresher on some of the details: The…