February 13, 2006 at 12:00 am #42229
Deborah
Participant
I’m an OB-GYN so I’ve seen a fair bit of this. Female genital mutilation is illegal here in the US. It is done here but not too commonly, and in secret. Most people have it done to their daughters before moving to the US or on trips home. There are growing political movements to ban female genital mutilation in various countries, but it’s still very common throughout Muslim North Africa. It’s not part of Islam at all, it’s not in the Koran, and it’s not done in Middle Eastern countries. Female genital mutilation is pretty much limited to North Africa and it’s an old custom that predates Islam.