FGM case in Atlanta

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I found this story in the Atlanta Jounral-Constitution and it really disturbed me. And before any anti-circumcision people say it's just as bad as male circumcision, please go and do research on why FGM is practiced and why you can't equate the two. This is not the place for it.The father accused of circumcising his 2-year-old daughter may tell his side of the story today.Defense attorney W. Mark Hill said Khalid Adem is expected to testify after the prosecution rests its case. Gwinnett Assistant District Attorney Marty First plans to call at least one more witness today before the defense case begins.Adem, 31, is charged with aggravated battery and cruelty to children. Authorities say he removed the girl's clitoris sometime in 2001. Adem was born in Ethiopia, where the procedure is a common practice for young girls.If convicted, Adem could face 40 years in prison.On Thursday, a therapist and two doctors who examined the victim testified in the rare trial involving the African custom of female circumcision. The practice, more commonly known as female genital mutilation, has been denounced by health and human rights activists.Nancy Aldridge, the girl's therapist, testified Thursday that the young victim has had extreme nightmares in which she screams, "No, Daddy. No." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has chosen not to identify the victim, now 7 years old.Aldridge, an Atlanta therapist who specializes in interviewing children, testified that she interviewed the victim when she was 3. During that interview, the girl said her father cut her with scissors.That 45-minute interview was shown in court Thursday. Aldridge interviewed her in an office that was set up as a child's playroom with small tables, toys and dolls.Less than an hour into the interview, the young girl said her father hurt her. She denied it several times at first."Daddy hurt me," the girl said and pointed to the genital area of a doll.The courtroom was packed with family members and friends when the videotaped interview was shown. The victim's mother, Fortunate Adem, wiped away tears as the video played.The TV screen was turned away from Khalid Adem so the jury could see it.In the interview, the girl also said her dad's friend held her legs down as her father cut her. But in later interviews, she said her dad prayed first and then cut her, as the friend sat in a chair and held her legs.Aldridge said it's typical for children to deny that traumatic incidents have happened to them at first, before admitting to them. A doctor confirmed the procedure had been done.Aldridge also confirmed earlier testimony from the victim's mother that the victim had many nightmares where she would scream about her father.Adem's defense attorney asked Aldridge if it were possible that the girl could have been coached to blame her father. But Aldridge said no, adding that the girl's mannerisms indicated she was telling the truth.Hill argued that there were inconsistencies in the victim's story. At one point, he said, the girl said the cutting occurred in the kitchen and other times she said it occurred in the bedroom. Hill also referenced notes from Aldridge in which she questioned why the victim's mother didn't know the cutting had occurred for more than a year.

FGM is the norm in a lot of North African Muslim nations, and it's not rare in the U.S. and Western Europe, among immigrants from those areas.I realize it's a cultural thing, but the people who practice it see it as a religious duty. Isn't religion just grand?

Yep it's pretty sick. But I do find it kind of wrong that this guy could go away for 40 years. Of course I find FGM wrong and offensive, but it seems like it's part of Ethiopia.Sorry but I'm going to use the circumcision example (although I agree it's not as bad). It's like if suddenly it became illegal for Jews to circumcise their boys, it's so fundamentally against their culture.

well it was done to a small child, (was she 7 when she was being interviewed or when it happened?) and also he wasnt in ethiopia

She was younger I think (2?). I don't condone it at all, I'm just saying it's difficult to change peoples' culture like that.

FGM is less like circumcision and more like cutting the head of the penis right off to prevent the sin of sexual pleasure.It's wrong in Ethiopia and it's wrong in Atlanta.

i second that. o my. it hurt my stomach readin that last night. the clit is VERy sensitive unlike the foreskin on a man. the head is whats sensitive on a man..so what if men were told to get that cut off??? to me this isnt the same as circumcision (sp)..its not fair imo.

You certainly can’t equate the two; I did a lot of research on FGM for a paper I wrote in college. What I read gives me the shudders to this day, and if there were an actual male equivalent to that barbaric practice, you can be sure it would not be tolerated by men, for religious or any other reasons.

In the Muslim religion, women are not seen the same as men. But make no mistake...it's a cultural thing for this to be done. There are plenty of Muslims that don't do it. Nice try Steve. Just as there are those who would use religious reasons to justify anything, so are there those who would use any reason to try and denounce religion. Both are extremist.

BTW, from what I've read about it, cutting off the clitoris is not the common practice. Removal of other external genitalia (such as the labia major) is much more the norm. That's a lot more like circumcision.

Partial or total removal of the clitoris is very much the norm Thor, mores the pity. I'll have a look round my computer for that piece and post it later, if you'd like to see it. I can assure you it was well researched.

Thanks...I'd like to read it.

actually, in Islam, women are held in high regard. The atrocities comitted upon women in the name of Islam are purely cultural.Now, as you once again accuse Steve of being a defiler of religion, where do you draw the line between a belief system and what people beleive to be the correct interpretation of that beleif system?

I don't get it. You agree with me that it's cultural, and then...?Let Steve fight his own battles...if he chooses to. As for the drawing of the lines you mention, they don't exist. Think about it.

you see, I am thinking about it.It's a complicated concept isn't it? They layers of belief are like the layers of an onion and all keepers of the faith draw their own lines.This is the basic folly of the mix of religion and humans. To each of us, reality is no more than what we perceive it to be.If I beleive god want's me to repair my daughter's genitalia, then, in my world, that is reality, no question. The system is inherantly broken.

you see, I am thinking about it.It's a complicated concept isn't it? They layers of belief are like the layers of an onion and all keepers of the faith draw their own lines.This is the basic folly of the mix of religion and humans. To each of us, reality is no more than what we perceive it to be.If I beleive god want's me to repair my daughter's genitalia, then, in my world, that is reality, no question. The system is inherantly broken.

That's not completely accurate. The most common practice and the least dangerous is cutting off the hood of the clitoris. The most extreme (and rarely practiced) is complete removal of the clitoris, labia minora, and sewing of the vaginal opening.

That's more like what I read before.

In case you missed it, it's the culture (not any religion) that is the cause of this. We have the Bible to help prevent the relativism you mention. A culture on its own has no such moral compass...hence what we see happening in Nigeria and other North African countries.

The problem with arguing cultural relativism in FGM cases is that it overrules the declaration that all humans are entitle to basic human rights that all countries belonging to the U.N. recognize. FGM clearly violates women and girl's right to live in a healthy, safe environment.

Oh I'm not arguing for it at all...I'm just saying that's why some folks (including those who signed the Declaration of Human Rights) find FGM unacceptable while certain cultures do find it acceptable.