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http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/jul/22/white-house-us-female-genital-mutilation
USA to Conduct a Major Study on American
Girls & Women at Risk for Female Genital Mutilation
Alexandra Topping
– 22 July 2014
The
Obama administration is to carry out a major study into female genital
mutilation, in an effort to establish how many women are living with the
consequences of FGM in the United States and how many girls are at risk.
The previous study was carried out in 199 ,
and new research is a central demand of a Guardian-backed campaign, led
by Jaha Dukureh, which aims to put an end to the practice. Experts say that
FGM, which involves the removal of a girl's outer sexual organs and is often
carried out without anaesthetic, often takes place during the summer holidays
when American girls are taken out of the country for the purpose. A prevalence
study is seen by campaigners as a vital first step in tackling FGM in the US.
Cathy
Russell, the US ambassador for global women's issues, confirmed that the study
would be carried out by the US Department of Health and Human Services.
Speaking to the Guardian at a major summit on FGM and child marriage in London,
Russell praised the event for highlighting the issue. "This summit is
important because it brings together government, civil society and activists
who care and have been working on this issue," she said.
FGM is carried out in 29 countries, and
Unicef has estimated that more than 130 million women are living with the
consequences, which include heavy bleeding, infections, infertility and death
during childbirth. At least 228,000 American women and girls in the US are at
risk of the practice, according
to previous research from the African Women’s Health Center of the Brigham
and Women’s Hospital, but the true number is thought to be much higher.
Young American women who were cut as girls
and teenagers on trips back to their parents' countries, a practice known as
"vacation cutting", told the Guardian that they had been left scarred
physically and emotionally. Lesha, a 21-year-old from a southern state, said
she and her sister were sent to Guinea when they were 11 and nine respectively.
“I went to Africa to learn about my identity just to end up being scarred for
life,” she
said.
It also
emerged that the Obama administration has set up a preliminary working group on
FGM, as the first step to measuring the extent of the problem in the US and
deciding how to tackle it. Russell said there had been an "initial
meeting"', adding that the group would likely meet again to discuss
developments at the London summit. "We've been engaged on this issue for a
long time, and now we are trying it get a sense of where we stand", she
said.
It is understood
the working group will look at how to fight FGM through education, and will
also look at how to tackle "vacation cutting".
Dukureh, whose petition calling for the new
study on change.org has attracted more than 230,000
signatures, said the US had an opportunity to push for change in its own
country and inspire change around the world.
"I'm so
excited because this is exactly what we asked for," she said. "It is
a great success not just for me but for everyone who has fought for this. But
it doesn't stop here, we are not going away. This is a first step in ending FGM
in the States, and where the US leads others might follow."
Shelby
Quast, policy advisor at Equality Now, which is working on the campaign, said
the development was proof that people could make a difference.
"Civil
society and survivors have raised their voices and the government has responded
to that, she said. "This interagency meeting is a call from the president
- it means he is bringing people together to talk about this issue. Now the
Obama administration must ensure they get input from survivors like Jaha."