Thursday marks the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation. Many people may be surprised to know that this is even a practice, but it is. It’s a custom in too many parts of the world, where women generally suffer from mistreatment, and sadly the practice has been imported into the West, including into the United States.
The World Health Organization defines female genital mutilation as the partial or total removal of female external genitalia for nonmedical reasons. It has no health benefits, it is traumatic for young girls to undergo, and it is nota practice condoned by any major religion.
Female genital mutilation is a horrific form of violence used to control the sexuality of young women and prevent premarital sexual relations by preventing women from being capable of experiencing sexual pleasure. Proponents of this practice think “unclean” body parts should be removed and see the practice as a way to adhere to certain religious principles. Regardless of the reasoning behind female genital mutilation, it is a human rights abuse and cannot be tolerated in the U.S.
On Jan. 5, 2021, President Donald Trump signed the Strengthening the Opposition to Female Genital Mutilation Act of 2020, which increased U.S. federal penalties for committing this heinous practice, expanded the scope of punishable offenses, and required government agencies to submit an annual report to Congress that includes the estimated number of U.S. women and girls who have undergone or are at risk of genital mutilation. Trump is leading us to the goal of zero tolerance, but sadly, we are not there yet.
An estimated 513,000 women and girls have experienced or are at risk of genital mutilation in the U.S. It is difficult to ascertain how prevalent this practice is, as it is often done underground and is surrounded by secrecy.
States also have an important role to play in this fight. State laws fill gaps that federal legislation cannot, such as mandating education and outreach for communities most at risk and for professionals to be aware and attune to vulnerable young women.
States can provide resources to give survivors of this abuse the opportunity to stand up for themselves in court. Unfortunately, nine states do not have anti-female genital mutilation protection laws: Alabama, Alaska, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, and Nebraska. There is no excuse for inaction.
Last spring in the Connecticut General Assembly Judiciary Committee, a law against female genital mutilation was stopped for the third straight year. Mariya Taher, one of the co-founders of the Sahiyo Foundation and a female genital mutilation survivor, said, “We garnered so much support and it just feels really frustrating and disappointing that with all the stories, all the sharing, that wasn’t enough to really help people or help them raise the bill.”
According to the AHA Foundation, there are likely almost 3,000 girls in Connecticut at risk due to this lack of protection. This is disgraceful. Last month, the Connecticut state legislature began its new session, and this issue should be placed on its agenda right away. Connecticut women deserve nothing less.
As we mark this day of zero tolerance for female genital mutilation, we must recognize that while progress has been made on this issue, it’s not good enough. Women won’t be fully protected until every state in our nation protects its young women from this barbaric practice. This is the year for action. Zero tolerance means zero.