Two doctors, Jumana Nagarwala and Fakhruddin Attar from Detriot, Michigan have been indicted in the United States on Female Genital Mutilation charges in the country. Both doctors along with the Farida Attar, wife of Fakhruddin Attar have been accused of performing the procedures at Attar's medical practice in Livonia, Mich.
Both Fakhruddin Attar and his wife have been released on bond as they await their trial, by U.S District Judge Bernard Friedman. Dr. Jumana Nagarwala is still being held.Dr. Nagarwala was a practicing doctor at Henry Ford Hospital in Detriot.
In the U.S.
Female genital mutilation also referred to as FGM has been outlawed across the United States since 1997. with the Federal Prohibition Mutilian Act. Congress criminalized the practice of FGM for any minor child under the age of 18 years- old. Regardless of a child is born in the U.S or immigrated into the country the practice has been banned.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Woodward stated that doctors performed the procedure of female genital mutilation on eight known girls, all of then were under 12 years old. Prosecutors believe that there could be many of victims of Dr. Nagarwala and Dr. Attar. Woodward believes that there are over 100 Girls that the accused have performed the procedures on.
If convicted, they face 20 years to life in prison for each charge.
The first person ever to prosecuted in the U.S for FMG is Khalid Adem on November 2. 2006.Khalid Adem, an Ethiopian American, residing in Georgia was found guilty of performing FGM on his then 2 year- old daughter. Adem had performed the procedure by himself with a pair of scissors.Adem served 10 years in prison and was deported back to Ethiopia after his sentence was served.As more people enter the United States, some continue to this outlawed brutality against women.
The accused doctors
The doctors accused of performing FGM are originally from India and immigrated to the United States. Jumana Nagarwala is the doctor accused of performing the actual procedures on the girls. Jumana Nagarwala, 44, and she is a member of the Dawoodi Bohra.
Fakhruddin Attar, 55, and his wife Farida Attar also from India and members of Dawoodi Bohra.
Farida Attar is accused of physically holding the girls down at her husband's medical office. The couple has an 8-year-old child that the State fo Michigan has taken custody and is seeking permanent removal from them. The Dawoodi Bohra is a part of Shia Islam and still practices female genital mutation.
Female Genital Mutilation
Female Genital Mutilation has been practiced for centuries around the world and has been outlawed. Unfortunately, it is still practiced today in some countries due to religious or cultural beliefs.There are different extents to FGM. Clitoridectomy, excisions, and infibulation.Some cases involve the removing just the clitoris on some victims, while other cases are more involved.
In the more extensive procedures of female genital mutilation, not just the clitoris is removed but also the lips of the vagina. Then the vagina is sewed closed with only a tiny opening remaining for urinating and for menstruation.
FGM is performed without anesthesia, in a dirty environment, sometimes even outside and without proper sterile surgical instruments. Unclean razor blades and broken glass bottles are sometimes used. The girls are forcibly held down while this is being done to them.Many girls suffer from pain, infections, and sometimes death.
Long-term effects of FGM include pain during sexual intercourse, infertility, complications in childbirth, and uncontrolled bleeding. There is no medical reason for the procedure to be done.People who practice FGM believe in keeping a female pure until marriage. These people also believe that it will prevent women from being unfaithful in her marriage.
