NPR

Female Genital Mutilation: What It Does To A Woman

The charges brought against two U.S. doctors for alleged female genital mutilation brought renewed attention to the ritual. We interview a World Health Organization specialist to learn more.
Jaha Dukureh, a survivor of female genital mutilation in her native Gambia, campaigns to end the practice in the U.S. Here she speaks at a news conference in the Capitol in Washington, D.C.

For the first time in the U.S., two physicians and a medical office manager were indicted on charges stemming from the alleged female genital mutilation of two young girls, about six to eight years old, according to a Michigan U.S. Attorney's Office. Dr. Jumana Nagarwala, Dr. Fakhruddin Attar and Attar's wife, Farida, were indicted on April 26 for FGM, which has been illegal in the U.S. since 1996. The AP reported that Nagarwala's attorney, Shannon Smith, has denied the allegation, saying the doctor was performing a religious custom that didn't involve

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