02 Nov Ethiopian Immigrant in US Convicted and Sentenced for Female Genital Mutilation
In a case that is already fueling a debate in Africa, and which may become an example of how local law enforcement in North America and Europe should handle the brutal practice of female genital mutilation, an Ethiopian immigrant in the US state of Georgia was found guilty yesterday of aggrevated assault and child cruelty for cutting his own two-year daughter’s genitals with scissors. He received a 10-year sentence. The AP reports the details here.
This appears to be the first criminal prosecution in the US for FGM. In the past two years, several states and the federal government have adopted statutes criminalizing the practice, but because the act charged in Georgia occurred prior to that state’s adoption of a specific criminal prohibition, prosecutors brought charges under the assault and child-endangerment statutes.
The defendant maintained his innocence throughout the trial, claiming that he was opposed to what was a “rural” and backward practice in his homeland:
Adem, who cried throughout the trial and during his testimony, was asked what he thought of someone who believes in the practice [of FGM]. He replied: “The word I can say is ‘mind in the gutter’. He is a moron.”
That the defendant did not even attempt to invoke a cultural defense may be a sign of progress. On the other hand, what option did he have?
Progress, maybe, but what if he was innocent? The AP article said that he and his wife were divorced and he alleges she may have coached the daughter’s testimony to implicate him when someone else may have been responsible. Could be the last gasps of a desperate man, but could also be true.
I’m curious as to several references in the AP article to ‘circumcision’ (e.g., ‘Since 2001, the State Department estimates that up to 130 million women worldwide have undergone circumcision.’).
Female genital mutilation is not at all like circumcision, an act which does have religious provenance (e.g., in Judaism as a ‘symbol’ of the covenant with Abraham) and rationalization. For instance, I’m not aware of any study that says males are at all harmed by being circumcised (a practice common to both Judaism and Islam). The locution ‘female circumcision’ makes no sense and should not be used as a synonym for FGM, nor as the female analogue of same. Indeed, it should be seen as a misguided attempt to imply that there is some religious sanction (e.g. in Islam) for such an act, which there decisively is not.
“For instance, I’m not aware of any study that says males are at all harmed by being circumcised (a practice common to both Judaism and Islam).”
One of my students showed me this after we had a class on FGM and Human Rights issues…
http://www.nocirc.org/
Thanks Cesare, I’ll gladly look at this material.
It looks as if I need to do my homework [;)] on circumcision: I’ve since found other interesting sites with helpful information.
The debate on male circumscision remains ongoing, although it should note that most medical studies have found little to no ill effects coupled with a decrease in some cancers and impeded transmissions of sexual diseases.