female circumcision news stories on Newser

CDC Must Stop Advocating Circumcision

Kevin Spak — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 14:54:13 CDT

Virtually everyone in the Western world seems to agree that female circumcision is horrible. It greatly reduces sexual pleasure, violates individual autonomy, and provides no discernible health benefits. Well, all that is true of male circumcision, too, writes Ethan Epstein, yet the CDC is considering a plan to “promote routine...

Mukasey Steps Into Genital Mutilation Case

Rob Quinn — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 07:29:00 CDT

In an extremely rare move, the US attorney general has stepped into a low-level immigration case and ordered that a victim of female genital mutilation be given another chance at asylum, CNN reports. AG Michael Mukasey slammed a previous decision that said the African woman had no reason to fear...

Slowly Changing Painful Customs

Ambreen Ali — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 19:46:05 CDT

The practice of female circumcision has been twice banned in Kenya, but nearly 40% of young women still undergo the painful and dangerous rite of passage into married life. The Christian Science Monitor profiles activists at the Tasaru Girls Rescue Center who work with villagers—using role models, lessons about...

Egypt Outlaws Female Genital Mutilation

Evelyn Renold — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 16:32:06 CDT

A legal loophole allowing girls to undergo genital cutting for "health reasons" has been eliminated in Egypt, strengthening an earlier ban. Seen as a rite of passage and a way to lessen sexual desire, the practice had been fairly widespread. But after a heavily sedated girl died during the operation,...