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FGM
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Dr. Jumana Nagarwala tries to toss counts in genital mutilation case
Three doctors accused of cutting the genitalia of prepubescent girls want key charges dismissed, arguing that a law banning female genital mutilation is unconstitutional.
The request, filed Friday in federal court, is the first legal challenge to a 22-year-old law that went unused until April 2017. That's when Dr. Jumana Nagarwala of Northville was arrested and accused of heading a conspiracy that lasted 12 years, involved seven people and led to mutilating the genitalia of girls as part of a religious procedure practiced by some members of the Dawoodi Bohra.
Congress lacked authority to enact a law criminalizing female genital mutilation in 1996, lawyers for Nagarwala and Farmington Hills couple Dr. Fakhruddin Attar and Dr. Farida Attar.
The law "impermissibly expanded the scope and authority of the federal government’s powers beyond constitutional parameters, and the current prosecution cannot proceed without violating the Constitution of the United States," the lawyers wrote.
The filing is the latest attempt to dismiss charges filed by federal prosecutors. In January, U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman dismissed the most serious countagainst Nagarwala and Fakhruddin Attar, a sex charge punishable by up to life in federal prison.
Three doctors accused of cutting the genitalia of prepubescent girls want key charges dismissed, arguing that a law banning female genital mutilation is unconstitutional.
The request, filed Friday in federal court, is the first legal challenge to a 22-year-old law that went unused until April 2017. That's when Dr. Jumana Nagarwala of Northville was arrested and accused of heading a conspiracy that lasted 12 years, involved seven people and led to mutilating the genitalia of girls as part of a religious procedure practiced by some members of the Dawoodi Bohra.
Congress lacked authority to enact a law criminalizing female genital mutilation in 1996, lawyers for Nagarwala and Farmington Hills couple Dr. Fakhruddin Attar and Dr. Farida Attar.
The law "impermissibly expanded the scope and authority of the federal government’s powers beyond constitutional parameters, and the current prosecution cannot proceed without violating the Constitution of the United States," the lawyers wrote.
The filing is the latest attempt to dismiss charges filed by federal prosecutors. In January, U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman dismissed the most serious countagainst Nagarwala and Fakhruddin Attar, a sex charge punishable by up to life in federal prison.
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Grand jury questions witnesses in female genital cutting case
A federal grand jury questioned additional witnesses in the a female genital cutting case. According to a report by the Detroit News, as many as six people were seen entering the grand jury suite in a federal court Wednesday who appear to be members of the Dawoodi Bohra, the religious community surrounding the case.
Peter Henning is a former federal prosecutor. He says the prosecutors are likely working to bolster the case.
“The government is allowed to continue its investigation and has to be very careful that it just doesn't gather evidence to use at trial against the current defendants, but if the grand jury finds there's probable cause to add charges then a superceding indictment can be issued to add charges or defendants to the case.”
Eight people have been charged in the case, including Dr. Jumana Nagarwala. She's accused of conspiring to cut the genitals of two girls from Minnesota and four from Michigan. The defense claimed that the federal law against female genital mutilation is unconstitutional because it was enacted under the commerce clause of the U.S. constitution, but the law does not relate to any interstate commerce.
Henning says that the grand jury testimony may allow the government to add more victims in other states, possibly countering the defense claims by showing that travel between states was involved in the crime.
A federal grand jury questioned additional witnesses in the a female genital cutting case. According to a report by the Detroit News, as many as six people were seen entering the grand jury suite in a federal court Wednesday who appear to be members of the Dawoodi Bohra, the religious community surrounding the case.
Peter Henning is a former federal prosecutor. He says the prosecutors are likely working to bolster the case.
“The government is allowed to continue its investigation and has to be very careful that it just doesn't gather evidence to use at trial against the current defendants, but if the grand jury finds there's probable cause to add charges then a superceding indictment can be issued to add charges or defendants to the case.”
Eight people have been charged in the case, including Dr. Jumana Nagarwala. She's accused of conspiring to cut the genitals of two girls from Minnesota and four from Michigan. The defense claimed that the federal law against female genital mutilation is unconstitutional because it was enacted under the commerce clause of the U.S. constitution, but the law does not relate to any interstate commerce.
Henning says that the grand jury testimony may allow the government to add more victims in other states, possibly countering the defense claims by showing that travel between states was involved in the crime.
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New charges, victims in Detroit Female Genital Mutilation case
DETROIT (WXYZ - A metro Detroit doctor accused of female genital mutilation is facing a new charge in a superseding indictment filed in federal court in Detroit
The indictment charges Dr. Jumana Nagarwala with Conspiracy to Travel with Intent to Engage in Illicit Sexual Conduct. She is accused of bringing people from the state of Minnesota to Michigan.
The indictment also reveals three new victims in the case, minors from Illinois. Four previously known victims were from Michigan and two were from Minnesota.
The indictment was filed in the Federal Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
It is not clear how it will affect the case. The trial was originally scheduled to begin early next year.
DETROIT (WXYZ - A metro Detroit doctor accused of female genital mutilation is facing a new charge in a superseding indictment filed in federal court in Detroit
The indictment charges Dr. Jumana Nagarwala with Conspiracy to Travel with Intent to Engage in Illicit Sexual Conduct. She is accused of bringing people from the state of Minnesota to Michigan.
The indictment also reveals three new victims in the case, minors from Illinois. Four previously known victims were from Michigan and two were from Minnesota.
The indictment was filed in the Federal Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
It is not clear how it will affect the case. The trial was originally scheduled to begin early next year.
MadamSarcastra
MadamSarcastra, over & out.
Its really unbelievable guys
If there is no women how they are alive, I mean without women no new birth if no new birth then how they are still alive or tribe is there
If there is no women how they are alive, I mean without women no new birth if no new birth then how they are still alive or tribe is there
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https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-female-genital-mutilation-law-20181120-story.html
In a major blow to the government, a federal judge in Detroit has declared the nation’s female genital mutilation law unconstitutional, thereby dismissing nearly all of the charges against two Michigan doctors and seven others accused of subjecting at least nine minor girls to genital cutting in the nation’s first FGM case.
In a major blow to the government, a federal judge in Detroit has declared the nation’s female genital mutilation law unconstitutional, thereby dismissing nearly all of the charges against two Michigan doctors and seven others accused of subjecting at least nine minor girls to genital cutting in the nation’s first FGM case.
I cannot open the link that you have posted. I found an interesting article concerning female mutilation in the UK. Despite it being illegal, there have never been any convictions.
Why Are The UK's Laws Against FGM Not Working?
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The UK and the USA might have to look to France to see their legal set up of their FGM laws. I agree, that more outreach on the subject in some communities is important. I don't agree that members of the families should not be prosecuted. So everyone has a big hug and talks about the practice of FGM over 20 years and the rate of FGM finally drops and no one is prosecuted, meanwhile, thousands of young female children have had the FGM performed on them.
I don't know why the link won't open for you shyvas, it opens up o/k down here. Here is another link to the case.
http://time.com
This is the message that appears when you click onto the link :
Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in most European countries. We are engaged on the issue
and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to the EU market. We continue to identify technical
compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism.
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Gee that's weird anyway here's a copy/paste........
In a historic ruling that strikes a chilling blow to women’s rights, a federal judge in Michigan declared unconstitutional the U.S. law against female genital mutilations (FGM), and dropped charges against two doctors for carrying out the procedure on underage girls.
U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman said Tuesday that Congress lacks the authority to outlaw the procedure, and insisted only states can make such a decision, the Detroit Free Press reports.
“As despicable as [FGM] may be,” Friedman said, Congress “overstepped its bounds” by banning the practice.
The trial was the first federal case to involve FGM, which is common religious practice in some cultures, but is internationally recognized as a human rights violation. The defendants, including three mothers, are all members of the Indian Muslim Dawoodi Bohra community.
Friedman dismissed the main charges against Jumana Nagarwala, a doctor who prosecutors said may have performed the procedure on up to 100 girls. Another doctor who allowed Nagarwala to use his clinic, that doctor’s wife and five others also saw their charges dropped. The doctors continue to face lengthy prison terms on conspiracy charges.
According to the court records, two of the mothers tricked their 7-year-olds into thinking they were going to Detroit for a girls’ trip. Instead, they had their genitals cut.
FGM typically involves cutting or even wholly removing the clitoris. The World Health Organization calls it “a violation of the human rights of girls and women” that “has no health benefits.”
In 2012, the U.N. General Assembly passed a resolution to ban the practice, which affects an estimated 200 million women and girls worldwide. It has also been outlawed in more than 30 countries, including the U.S., which passed a law in 1996 criminalizing FGM with a 5-year prison term.
Twenty-seven states separately passed similar measures, including Michigan in 2017. But the defendants in this case are not retroactively subject to the new law.
A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney in Detroit said the government would review the ruling before deciding whether to appeal.
Michigan State Senator Margaret O’Brien, who backed the state ban on FGM, said she was “appalled” by Tuesday’s ruling.
Yasmeen Hassan, executive global director for gender rights group Equality Now, warned the ruling sends the message to women and girls that “you are not important.”
Write to Eli Meixler at eli.meixler@time.com.
I totally agree as it's usually these poor girls mums who trick them, when taking them for these awful mutilations.
It's mind boggling that our society can still tolerate this happening to young girls.
It is the adults that we have to educate and teach them how wrong this is for the future generation.
This reminds me of how grateful I am to have been born in the UK.
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Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser, Founder and President of American Islamic Forum for Democracy, Rebukes Judge's Dismissal of FGM Charges
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 1, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- In a disappointing and unforeseen turn, a federal judge has dismissed female genital mutilation (FGM) charges against Michiganphysicians because of his belief that the 1996 federal law was unconstitutional. The Detroit Free Press states that, "In a major blow to the federal government, a judge in Detroit has declared America's female genital mutilation law unconstitutional, thereby dismissing the key charges against two Michigan doctors and six others accused of subjecting at least nine minor girls to the cutting procedure in the nation's first FGM case."
The American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD) has been following the case closely since charges were first announced in April 2017 when it announced, "The American Islamic Forum for Democracy, a Muslim-led organization whose founding principles include gender equality, welcomes the news that Jumana Nagarwala, a Detroit-based physician, has been arrested for allegedly carrying out female genital mutilation (FGM) against girls here in the United States."
AIFD President, M. Zuhdi Jasser, has written extensively on the case including a comprehensive piece for the Gatestone Institute in June 2017, titled: "Female Genital Mutilation: American Muslim Physician Says Stop Defending the Abuse of Girls and Women."
As expected, Jasser was not pleased with the news on the case. In reaction to Judge Friedman's dismissal of the FGM charges, he writes, "Judge Friedman's premature ruling is beyond egregious. It is inhuman and un-American. The judge essentially just signaled to doctors like Dr. Nagarwala that they can seek refuge in the U.S. federal system for their crimes against the humanity of young girls."
Jasser goes on to state that although he understands the mental gymnastics of the federalist ruling, he believes that there appeared to be many other ways justice could have been served for the victims, and the case hasn't even been tried yet.
"This is a landmark case. The judge cannot just wrap himself conveniently in a few words of acknowledgement of the horrors of FGM," elaborates Jasser, "this case was breaking new ground and it's not clear to anyone that the feds made their case at all yet let alone fully, as to why they had jurisdiction and why the federal law was in fact constitutional."
The case, which saw seven to nine-year-old girls being trafficked between states and then operated on by licensed physicians, received attention from law enforcement after probable cause was found in federal books. Jasser believes that it requires a suspension of disbelief for anyone to even entertain an argument that FGM based in cross-state trafficking could not fit into many aspects of federal jurisdiction, especially given the '96 law.
"If this case is about the hope of finding any justice for the young girls," Jasser concludes, "there must have been countless ways for the judge to hear the case and then send a clear and unmistakable message about FGM regarding many counts against the perpetrators while yet leaving some room in the decision for some teaching points on "federalism"."
SOURCE American Islamic Forum for Democracy
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 1, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- In a disappointing and unforeseen turn, a federal judge has dismissed female genital mutilation (FGM) charges against Michiganphysicians because of his belief that the 1996 federal law was unconstitutional. The Detroit Free Press states that, "In a major blow to the federal government, a judge in Detroit has declared America's female genital mutilation law unconstitutional, thereby dismissing the key charges against two Michigan doctors and six others accused of subjecting at least nine minor girls to the cutting procedure in the nation's first FGM case."
The American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD) has been following the case closely since charges were first announced in April 2017 when it announced, "The American Islamic Forum for Democracy, a Muslim-led organization whose founding principles include gender equality, welcomes the news that Jumana Nagarwala, a Detroit-based physician, has been arrested for allegedly carrying out female genital mutilation (FGM) against girls here in the United States."
AIFD President, M. Zuhdi Jasser, has written extensively on the case including a comprehensive piece for the Gatestone Institute in June 2017, titled: "Female Genital Mutilation: American Muslim Physician Says Stop Defending the Abuse of Girls and Women."
As expected, Jasser was not pleased with the news on the case. In reaction to Judge Friedman's dismissal of the FGM charges, he writes, "Judge Friedman's premature ruling is beyond egregious. It is inhuman and un-American. The judge essentially just signaled to doctors like Dr. Nagarwala that they can seek refuge in the U.S. federal system for their crimes against the humanity of young girls."
Jasser goes on to state that although he understands the mental gymnastics of the federalist ruling, he believes that there appeared to be many other ways justice could have been served for the victims, and the case hasn't even been tried yet.
"This is a landmark case. The judge cannot just wrap himself conveniently in a few words of acknowledgement of the horrors of FGM," elaborates Jasser, "this case was breaking new ground and it's not clear to anyone that the feds made their case at all yet let alone fully, as to why they had jurisdiction and why the federal law was in fact constitutional."
The case, which saw seven to nine-year-old girls being trafficked between states and then operated on by licensed physicians, received attention from law enforcement after probable cause was found in federal books. Jasser believes that it requires a suspension of disbelief for anyone to even entertain an argument that FGM based in cross-state trafficking could not fit into many aspects of federal jurisdiction, especially given the '96 law.
"If this case is about the hope of finding any justice for the young girls," Jasser concludes, "there must have been countless ways for the judge to hear the case and then send a clear and unmistakable message about FGM regarding many counts against the perpetrators while yet leaving some room in the decision for some teaching points on "federalism"."
SOURCE American Islamic Forum for Democracy
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Regardless of this (male) judge's ruling, it is still a barbaric gesture that will have serious consequences of the lives of these girls.
It is purely unbelievable that a civilised country like the US allows clinics to do these procedures on young girls. Just the thought of it makes my blood boil.
I'm amazed that people knowing this, still support the two doctors who did these procedures, by going to this clinic. The doctors and clinic have been named, so what is the general public doing about it ?
It is purely unbelievable that a civilised country like the US allows clinics to do these procedures on young girls. Just the thought of it makes my blood boil.
I'm amazed that people knowing this, still support the two doctors who did these procedures, by going to this clinic. The doctors and clinic have been named, so what is the general public doing about it ?
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From the supporters of Dr. Jumana Nagarwala
Letter: Dawoodi Bohra women of Detroit speak up
We are writing today as business owners, lawyers, doctors, teachers and educated women from a range of professions. We are mothers, daughters, grandmothers, and aunts. Most importantly, we are women of the Dawoodi Bohra faith who have lived and worked for decades in the wonderful city of Detroit.
The recent court case of Dr. Jumana Nagarwala, who has been wrongly accused of practicing FGM, has turned the media into a feeding frenzy of misinformation and outright falsehoods about our faith and our practice of khaftz — a harmless form of female circumcision that in no way can be defined as female genital mutilation.
Letter: Dawoodi Bohra women of Detroit speak up
We are writing today as business owners, lawyers, doctors, teachers and educated women from a range of professions. We are mothers, daughters, grandmothers, and aunts. Most importantly, we are women of the Dawoodi Bohra faith who have lived and worked for decades in the wonderful city of Detroit.
The recent court case of Dr. Jumana Nagarwala, who has been wrongly accused of practicing FGM, has turned the media into a feeding frenzy of misinformation and outright falsehoods about our faith and our practice of khaftz — a harmless form of female circumcision that in no way can be defined as female genital mutilation.
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Feds will appeal female genital mutilation ruling
Detroit — Federal prosecutors signaled Wednesday they will appeal a judge's decision to dismiss several genital mutilation charges against several doctors last month while ruling a ban on the practice was unconstitutional.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Detroit filed a notice of appeal late Wednesday, four weeks after U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman delivered a significant, but not fatal, blow to the first criminal case of its kind nationwide involving female genital mutilation. The judge left intact conspiracy and obstruction charges that could send Dr. Jumana Nagarwala of Northville and three others to federal prison for decades.
The judge's opinion last month drew complaints worldwide that girls were left unprotected against a controversial procedure practiced by some members of the Dawoodi Bohra, a small Muslim sect from India that has a considerable community in Metro Detroit.
Defense lawyers involved in the case had urged Friedman to dismiss several charges in what amounted to the first challenge of a 22-year-old genital mutilation law that went unused until April 2017.
That's when Nagarwala was arrested and accused of heading a conspiracy that lasted 12 years, involved seven other people and led to mutilating the genitalia of nine girls.
Friedman removed four defendants from the case — including three mothers accused of subjecting their daughters to female genital mutilation — while concluding Congress had no authority to enact a law criminalizing female genital mutilation, known as FGM.
“There is nothing commercial or economic about FGM,” Friedman wrote in a 28-page opinion last month. (Female genital mutilation) is not part of a larger market and it has no demonstrated effect on interstate commerce. The Commerce Clause does not permit Congress to regulate a crime of this nature.”
Detroit — Federal prosecutors signaled Wednesday they will appeal a judge's decision to dismiss several genital mutilation charges against several doctors last month while ruling a ban on the practice was unconstitutional.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Detroit filed a notice of appeal late Wednesday, four weeks after U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman delivered a significant, but not fatal, blow to the first criminal case of its kind nationwide involving female genital mutilation. The judge left intact conspiracy and obstruction charges that could send Dr. Jumana Nagarwala of Northville and three others to federal prison for decades.
The judge's opinion last month drew complaints worldwide that girls were left unprotected against a controversial procedure practiced by some members of the Dawoodi Bohra, a small Muslim sect from India that has a considerable community in Metro Detroit.
Defense lawyers involved in the case had urged Friedman to dismiss several charges in what amounted to the first challenge of a 22-year-old genital mutilation law that went unused until April 2017.
That's when Nagarwala was arrested and accused of heading a conspiracy that lasted 12 years, involved seven other people and led to mutilating the genitalia of nine girls.
Friedman removed four defendants from the case — including three mothers accused of subjecting their daughters to female genital mutilation — while concluding Congress had no authority to enact a law criminalizing female genital mutilation, known as FGM.
“There is nothing commercial or economic about FGM,” Friedman wrote in a 28-page opinion last month. (Female genital mutilation) is not part of a larger market and it has no demonstrated effect on interstate commerce. The Commerce Clause does not permit Congress to regulate a crime of this nature.”
A woman who mutilated her three-year-old daughter has become the first person in the UK to be found guilty of female genital mutilation (FGM).
The 37-year-old mother from east London wept in the dock as she was convicted after a trial at the Old Bailey.
Mum guilty of girl's genital mutilation
The 37-year-old mother from east London wept in the dock as she was convicted after a trial at the Old Bailey.
Mum guilty of girl's genital mutilation
Some information on that:
https://sahiyo.files.wordpress.com/2018/03/sahiyo-brochure_2_whatisfgc-1.pdf
So, as also suggested by an Australian Criminal Appeal Supreme Court decision where 3 people practicing this « tradition » were acquitted of « having performed FGM », it is likely a « less critical form » of FGM - but that still does not make it right, at all.
It also clearly shows - to me - that the practice of Male Genital Mutilation (circumsision) as being routinely performed on newborns needs to be stopped ASAP. Don’t interfere with your kid’s genitals, unless there is a compelling medical reason to do so!
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Even their national body doesn't endorse the practice .....
In response to this court case, the Dawoodi Bohra religious order issued letters to jamaats (congregations) around the
world to advise their constituents to not engage in “Khatna” as it could be defined by the country they resided in as FGC. These letters were issued in jamaats only in countries where existing legislation criminalizing FGC were already in place, such as Australia, United States, Canada, United Kingdom, etc
The problem with enforcing legislation in the above countries, is that we are dealing with a minority of the population.
Constituents should be more vocal and contact their MP's and also create petitions.
These innocent girls have every right to lead a normal life without undergoing such a violent act of mutilation.
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