Female genital mutilation trial moved to June 2018

Jumana Nagarwala  The trial date for the landmark genital mutilation case involving a former Henry Ford Health System doctor and seven other defendants has again been moved forward – this time for eight months, to allow attorneys and prosecutors more opportunity to prepare. The jury trial for Jumana Nagarwala and…

Continue reading

What is Female Genital Mutilation or FGM?

/ Al Jazeera answers to the most asked questions about FGM. What does FGM stand for? FGM stands for Female Genital Mutilation, which consists of the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia. It is also known by other names including ‘cutting’, ‘female circumcision’ and ‘initiation’. Which countries…

Continue reading

Communication is key to understanding female circumcision

Lack of communication hampers the prevention of female genital mutilation, according to anthropologist Rachel Issa Djesa. She has observed encounters between Norwegian authorities, health personnel and Somali women in Norway. The Somali women that Djesa describes in her PhD thesis on female genital mutilation often feel patronised by Norwegian health…

Continue reading

Alfred Stepan – Democracy and Islam

 Stepan’s deep respect for Muslims was an extension of his general respect to all human beings, a reflection of his independent and curious mind, and big and compassionate heart. In memoriam. Alfred and Ahmet, Tunisia 2013. Author’s photograph.Alfred Stepan, a world-renowned political scientist, passed away on September 27 at the age…

Continue reading

WHO Headquarters Leadership Team

Deputy Directors-General Dr Soumya Swaminathan, Deputy Director-General for Programmes Dr. Soumya Swaminathan has been appointed Deputy Director-General for Programmes (DDP). A pediatrician from the India and a globally recognized researcher on tuberculosis and HIV, she brings with her 30 years of experience in clinical care and research and has worked…

Continue reading

Feminists Shamefully Silent on Plight of Muslim Women, Says Feminist Phyllis Chesler in New Book from New English Review Press

Speaking about her new book, “Islamic Gender Apartheid: Exposing the Veiled War Against Women” from New English Review Press, Phyllis Chesler mourned the fact that so many American progressives, including feminists, have so disgracefully abandoned their Muslim and other tribal sisters who come to the West seeking the freedoms that…

Continue reading

Communication is key to understanding female circumcision

The Somali women that Djesa describes in her PhD thesis on female genital mutilation often feel patronised by Norwegian health personnel. Credit: iStockphoto Lack of communication hampers the prevention of female genital mutilation, according to anthropologist Rachel Issa Djesa. She has observed encounters between Norwegian authorities, health personnel and Somali…

Continue reading