fgm

i've written about it before and will continue to do so until it is eradicated from the face of the earth (i'm NOT a fan of male circumcision either by the way. however, that is USUALLY done in a hospital. no, not always. however, MOST of the time it does NOT horribly mutilate and disfigure the person as does female genital mutilation)

asylum must be granted for these people. the ones who migrate to the us are few. we can open our doors to them. we must also help to educate other countries on the effects of this horror. it MUST stop

Area Immigrants With Wounds That Won't Heal

Mutilated Women Seek Asylum in U.S.

By Pamela Constable

Washington Post Staff Writer

The women's stories all begin with a searing childhood memory they cannot describe without weeping.

The stories stretch back to villages in North and West Africa, where tribal traditions include various rites to protect family honor. For generations, mothers there have passed on the practice of genital circumcision to their daughters, believing it will make them respectable and chaste for marriage.

The stories leap to present-day America, where foreign-born victims of forced circumcision have been allowed to apply for political asylum since a landmark immigration ruling in 1996, but where, in the past year, some immigration courts have been trying to narrow the grounds on which they can receive legal sanctuary.

Only a few hundred women have sought or won such asylum claims. A handful live quietly in the Washington area, working in hospitals and offices and beauty salons. All carry deep physical and mental wounds. Five agreed to be interviewed, but none was willing to be identified. No one at their jobs or in their neighborhoods knows their secret. In court documents, they are referred to as "A-T" or "H-M." Yet they live in fear that a distant, smothering culture can reach out and harm them again..........