Judge dismisses 1 charge in Michigan female genital mutilation (FGM) case

Federal prosecutors have indicted two doctors and six Detroit area members of the Muslim community for subjecting young girls to female genital mutilation (FGM) procedures. They are charged with 9 counts of conspiring, committing, and concealing acts of FGM, which is illegal in the U.S. (per 18 U.S. Code § 116). Preliminary physical findings made public from genital examinations of two of the child victims revealed,

[#1] “labia minora altered, or removed; clitoral hood abnormal in appearance; scar tissue and small lacerations”

[#2] “clitoral hood has a small incision; small tear to labia minora”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Woodward has disclosed that defendant Dr. Jumana Nagarwala may have performed some 100 FGM procedures on young girls, so it is shocking that U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman would drop any of charges in this horrible case.

Friedman ruled  that Dr. Jumana Nagarwala and Dr. Fakhruddin Attar didn’t commit conspiracy to transport a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. “The facts alleged in the indictment do not support this charge because, as a matter of law, FGM, while a prohibited criminal act, is not `criminal sexual activity.”‘ The clitoris is the female sexual organ – the source of human female sexual pleasure. This is sexual crime.

Dissemblers and deceivers claim that FGM is cultural phenomenon, not religious. FGM is an Islamic cultural phenomenon. FGM is found only within and adjacent to Muslim communities. (source: Gerry Mackie, “Ending Footbinding and Infibulation: A Convention Account,” American Sociological Review).

Unlike male circumcision, female genital mutilation has no health benefits for girls and women.

Female genital mutilation (FGM) involves partial or total removal of the clitoris, causing injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.

Female genital mutilation procedure has no health benefits for girls and women. It removes all possibility of sexual pleasure. It is the worst kind of misogyny.

Procedures can cause severe bleeding and problems urinating, and later cysts, infections, as well as complications in childbirth and increased risk of newborn deaths.

FGM is mostly carried out on young girls between infancy and age 15.

FGM is a violation of the human rights of girls and women.

Judge dismisses 1 charge in Michigan female genital mutilation case
A total of 8 people are charged in the case

The Associated Press, January 16, 2018:

A federal judge in Detroit has dismissed one of several charges against two doctors in connection with a female genital mutilation case.

U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman ruled Sunday that Dr. Jumana Nagarwala and Dr. Fakhruddin Attar didn’t commit conspiracy to transport a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. Two of the girls Nagarwala is accused of cutting at Attar’s clinic were from Minnesota.

• Michigan imposes prison term for female genital mutilation
• Minnesota moms charged in Michigan genital mutilation case

Friedman wrote that prosecutors hadn’t contended that any “libidinal gratification” was “sought or obtained” from subjecting the girls to the procedure.

“The facts alleged in the indictment do not support this charge because, as a matter of law, FGM, while a prohibited criminal act, is not `criminal sexual activity,”‘ Friedman wrote.

Attorneys for the doctors had sought to have the charge dismissed.

Female genital mutilation, also known as female circumcision or cutting, or FGM, has been condemned by the United Nations and outlawed in the United States. But the practice is common for girls in parts of Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

Doctor denies crime was committed

Nagarwala was arrested in April. She is accused of cutting at least six girls at Attar’s clinic in Livonia, just west of Detroit. The two Minnesota girls were brought to Michigan by their mothers, who are also charged in the case. The girls were 7 years old at the time. Their mothers are also charged in the case.

Nagarwala denies any crime was committed. She said she performed a religious custom on girls from her Muslim sect, the India-based Dawoodi Bohra.

• Not-guilty plea for doc in Detroit genital mutilation case

A grand in Michigan indicted Nagarwala, Attar and Attar’s wife, Farida, on charges including female genital mutilation and conspiracy. The federal indictment alleged the trio tried to obstruct the investigation by telling other people to make false statement to authorities. The doctors are also accused of lying to investigators.

A total of eight people are charged in the case.