MICHIGAN: An Indian-origin female doctor has been arrested and charged with performing genital mutilation on girls aged 6 to 8. According to a complaint, some of the minor victims allegedly travelled inter-state to have Jumana Nagarwala perform the procedure out of a medical office in Livonia, Michigan. An emergency room physician, she is scheduled to appear in federal court in Detroit.
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), was made illegal for anyone under 18, in the US, in 1996, after the Congress passed a law. It is punishable by up to five years in prison, however, is not a crime in 26 US states including Michigan. Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Blanco of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, released a statement saying, “Despite her oath to care for her patients, Nagawala is alleged to have performed horrifying acts of brutality on the most vulnerable victims.” He added that the Department of Justice is committed to stopping FGM in the US and will use the full power of the law to ensure that “no girls suffer such physical and emotional abuse.”
Acting US Attorney Daniel Lemisch of the Eastern District of Michigan said the procedure constitutes a particularly brutal form of violence against women and girls. “It is also a serious federal felony in the United States. The practice has no place in modern society and those who perform FGM on minors will be held accountable under federal law.”
Following the complaint, federal agents reviewed Nagarwala's telephone records. Further investigations revealed that parents of two minors had travelled to Michigan. The girls were later interviewed by a forensic expert and one of them said she was told she was coming to Detroit for a “special” girls trip, but after arriving at the hotel, she learned she and the other girl were going to the doctor because “our tummies hurt”.
FGM comprises all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.
