Female genital mutilation on the rise in the United States-report

While it is a good thing that the problem of FGM is being addressed in the press, this report manages to not once use the word Muslim.  Which is strange, given that 99% of all FGM is done within the Muslim community.

When you import Islam, you import all the 7th century barbarism that comes with it.

FROM TRUST.ORG:

Female genital mutilation on the rise in the United States-report

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 12:19 GMT

By Lisa Anderson

NEW YORK (TrustLaw) - The ancient, brutal practice of female genital mutilation (FGM), once considered primarily a problem of the developing world, is a growing threat to girls and women in the United States, according to a new report.

The United States has longstanding laws against the practice of FGM on U.S. soil and in January, passed a federal law against sending young women outside the country for so-called "vacation cutting". However, girls living in America increasingly are at risk of the procedure both at home and abroad, according to research by Sanctuary for Families.

The New York City-based non-profit organisation, which specialises in gender-based violence, said up to 200,000 girls and women in the United States are at risk of FGM and that the number is growing.

"People in the United States think that FGM only happens to people outside of the United States, but in all actuality, people here all over the country have been through FGM," said Jaha, 23, formerly from Gambia and now a survivor and advocate against FGM.

"Kids that were born in this country are taken back home every summer and undergo this procedure," she was quoted as saying in the report.

The study cited analysis of data from the 2000 census that found between 1990 and 2000 the number of girls and women in the United States at risk of the procedure - which involves the partial or total removal of external female genitalia - increased by 35 percent.

SADNESS, EMPTINESS

Most prevalent in immigrant African and Middle Eastern communities, FGM generally originates in the belief by some cultures that it preserves a girl's virginity before marriage and discourages her from promiscuity after she is wed. In many communities, a girl is deemed unfit for marriage if she has not undergone FGM.

The report said FGM has been performed in the United States by health care providers who support FGM or do not want to question families' cultural practices. 

Article continues HERE.