I first came across the term “female genital mutilation” (FGM) in April 2017, when American doctor Jumana Nagarwala was arrested for performing the operation on young girls in the Dawoodi Bohra Muslim community.
I am from that community. After Nagarwala’s arrest, my close friends and family, as well as my Facebook friends, were all expressing their opinions on the matter. Despite female circumcision in the community being mandatory for young girls, my mother shielded my sisters and I from it, and for a very good reason. Within the community, FGM is referred to as “khatna”—female circumcision. Proponents of khatna claim it is different from FGM. But, more and more Bohra parents, such as my mother, are stopping the abusive practice of cutting young girls.
The U.S. dropped several charges against Nagarwala, and ruled the ban on FGM unconstitutional. According to the judge, outlawing FGM is on a state’s authority instead of being a national issue. It is considered local criminal activity, and is therefore the responsibility of the state to decide laws on it.
This is the exact opposite of the work Bohra activist groups, such as WeSpeakOut and Sahiyo, are doing in educating people on the harm that FGM does to young girls and working to ban it worldwide. Since khatna is mandated by the religious leader, many parents go to lengths to administer it to their children, including taking them to places where it is legal. Two of the girls whom Nagarwala cut were brought to Detroit from Minnesota. Although the ruling does not condone FGM, it leaves the impression within the Bohra community that FGM is harmless. A national ban enforces the fact that FGM is child abuse.
WeSpeakOut is an international organization founded by Masooma Ranalvi. Its primary aim is to work towards eliminating khatna in the Bohra community. Recently, the organization has been involved in a debate on FGM in India. The U.S. ruling goes against the work of the organization. The ruling legitimizes the arguments of people who are pro-FGM and, as was Sahiyo’s concern, shuts down those people working tirelessly to get it banned.
Sahiyo, for example, is an organization dedicated to providing FGM survivors a platform to tell their stories. They also offer resources for survivors. According to Mariya Taher, the co-founder of Sahiyo, the ruling might encourage people to shut down survivors and their experiences. With the U.S. holding considerable global stature, the ruling will affect Bohra communities throughout the world.
Nagarwala’s arrest brought up silenced conversations within the Bohra community. Many women, including close friends of mine, have described FGM as one of the most traumatic experiences of their lives. Nagarwala’s arrest was a strong push towards opening up conversations on khatna as an abusive practice. However, the dismissal of the case reinforces and validates the practice in the Bohra community. While the largest number of people from the community live in South Asia, where FGM is legal, there are many Bohras in Canada and the United States. Laws might not change the mind of people who are set on khatna, but they can ensure that at least some girls are spared.
One of the main debates around Nagarwala’s arrest, from the perspective of people who are pro-FGM, was that the U.S. simply did not understand their culture and were encroaching on their religious freedom. Coming from someone who is from this community, and who has had extensive conversations with other members of the community on this issue, banning FGM is not encroaching on anything.
FGM is a violation of a girl’s rights, agency, and freedom. It is an incredibly traumatic experience and we should be working towards banning it completely, not opening up the question of its validity again.
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