Grigori Rasputin
Former Somali Minister of Mismanagement & Misinfo.
Staff Member
Wariyaha SomaliSpot
Dr. Jumana Nagarwala is accused of performing the procedure on two Minnesota girls, Hafsa Garooweyan and Ikram Gass that left them with scars and lacerations. Her attorney, Shannon Smith, insists that Nagarwala conducted a benign religious ritual that involved no mutilation.
Prosecutors on Friday charged two others, Dr. Fakhruddin Attar and his wife, Farida Attar, with conspiracy. Fakhruddin Attar owns the Detroit-area clinic where the alleged procedures were performed in February, and investigators say the couple knew Nagarwala was doing the procedures after business hours.
When many Somali girls are age 6 to 8, their parents approach — or are approached by — a "secret network" of female elders about getting the girls cut. There is then an informal vetting process to make sure a request is legitimate and not an attempt to expose any activities.
"Everybody knows somebody who has gotten their daughter cut ... but nobody wants to rat out their family members or friends," said a community activist named Omar Jamal.
The World Health Organization said the practice of removing or injuring female genital organs has no known health benefits but has been performed on roughly 200 million women and girls in 30 countries.
Multiple Islamic scholars and experts say the practice is cultural, not based in religious principles. Those who don't have their daughters circumcised are subjected to pressure, and those who do believe they are protecting the girls.
Dr. Mohammed Arsiwala, president and CEO of Michigan Urgent Care and a board member of the Michigan State Medical Society has shared his concerns about the procedure through a resolution presented to the state medical group, which adopted a policy several years ago labeling it unethical for doctors to perform.
Prosecutors on Friday charged two others, Dr. Fakhruddin Attar and his wife, Farida Attar, with conspiracy. Fakhruddin Attar owns the Detroit-area clinic where the alleged procedures were performed in February, and investigators say the couple knew Nagarwala was doing the procedures after business hours.
When many Somali girls are age 6 to 8, their parents approach — or are approached by — a "secret network" of female elders about getting the girls cut. There is then an informal vetting process to make sure a request is legitimate and not an attempt to expose any activities.
"Everybody knows somebody who has gotten their daughter cut ... but nobody wants to rat out their family members or friends," said a community activist named Omar Jamal.
The World Health Organization said the practice of removing or injuring female genital organs has no known health benefits but has been performed on roughly 200 million women and girls in 30 countries.
Multiple Islamic scholars and experts say the practice is cultural, not based in religious principles. Those who don't have their daughters circumcised are subjected to pressure, and those who do believe they are protecting the girls.
Dr. Mohammed Arsiwala, president and CEO of Michigan Urgent Care and a board member of the Michigan State Medical Society has shared his concerns about the procedure through a resolution presented to the state medical group, which adopted a policy several years ago labeling it unethical for doctors to perform.
