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Explore our resources covering FGM
Equality Now was founded in 1992 to address the lack of attention FGM received from international human rights organizations and in 1996 launched a campaign in the U.S. against the detention of 17-year-old Fauziya Kassindja, who had escaped from Togo fleeing FGM and a forced marriage in 1994. In a landmark decision, Fauziya was granted asylum in the U.S. and her case helped establish FGM as a form of gender-based persecution on the basis of which women could receive asylum in the U.S.
More recently, news articles have highlighted cases of girls born in the U.S. being subjected to FGM, sometimes while on vacation in their parents’ countries of origin, referred to as “vacation cutting.”
In a 2018 federal case, U.S. v. Nargarwala, a U.S.-licensed Doctor was charged with performing FGM on nine girls, aged 7-13, at a Detroit Clinic. An Amicus Brief submitted by Equality Now in partnership with We Speak Out, Sahiyo and Safe Hands for Girls was accepted by the court. In November 2018, a federal judge in Detroit dismissed six of the eight charges on the grounds that the law was unconstitutional because Congress did not have the right to criminalize the practice. The Stop FGM Act 2020 which came into effect on 5 January 2021 expressly notes that it is the sense of the US Congress that the District Court of Michigan erred in declaring the law unconstitutional, and an updated version of the federal law is now in force.
Ending FGM requires a multi-sectoral approach that brings together law enforcement, child protection professionals, educators, physicians, religious leaders, government agencies, advocates, and survivors. The approach must be holistic and always keep the best interest of the girl or woman who is either at risk of or a survivor of FGM at the centre of its efforts.
In December 2016, Equality Now, Safe Hands for Girls, The United States Institute of Peace and the US Network to End FGM/C came together to host the first-ever End Violence Against Girls: Summit on FGM/C in the US, with generous support from the Human Dignity Foundation and the Wallace Global Fund. The event sought to encourage a multi-sectoral approach to ending female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) by bringing together subject matter experts from across sectors and continents. The collaboration among these organizations working to promote peace, protect girls’ human rights and elevate survivor voices was natural and strong.
The Summit invigorated and deepened the dialogue around ending the practice by 2030 and spurred synergy and collaboration that will hopefully continue to expand and enhance collective efforts of FGM/C survivors, activists and policymakers. Equality Now is proud to sit on the inaugural Steering Committee of the US End FGM/C Network.
Federal law 18 U.S. Code § 116 ‘Female Genital Mutilation’, as amended by the STOP FGM Act 2020 makes it illegal to perform FGM in the U.S. and was amended in 2013 to make it illegal to knowingly transport a girl out of the U.S. for the purpose of FGM. The older version of the section 116 which was found unconstitutional by the Michigan District Court in 2018 has now been replaced by an updated version after the passage of the STOP FGM Act 2020. The 2020 amendment has clarified the definition of FGM under the law. The law also requires the Attorney General to submit an annual report to Congress to report on actions taken by federal, state and local agencies to protect women and girls from FGM as well education and awareness measures taken by federal agencies.
Additionally, only 41 states have laws against FGM.
In collaboration with civil society, several government agencies have guidance on the law against FGM:
We are encouraged by these initiatives, but much more needs to be done. Other countries are far ahead of the U.S. in their data collection, prevention and training programs, health services to survivors and public awareness of women and girls affected by or at risk of FGM. Equality Now has worked closely with the U.S. government to inform policy on FGM and continues to advocate with FGM survivors in the U.S. for a comprehensive approach to effective implementation of U.S. laws and policies and greater public awareness of this human rights violation.