A Michigan physician and his wife have been arrested for participating in the practice of female genital mutilation. Burhani Medical Clinic owner Fakhruddin Attar, 53, and his wife Farida Attar, 50 [who managed the BMC office] were charged with conspiracy to commit female genital mutilation and aiding and abetting female genital mutilation, according to a complaint unsealed on Friday, April 21.
Last week the nations first federal prosecution of FGM took place when a doctor by the name of Jumana Nagarwala was arrested for cutting the genitals of two 7-year-old girls in Minnesota. Her arrest helped lead to the arrest of Fakhruddin and his wife, as they are alleged to have helped arrange appointments and lent their facility to Nagarwala.
"Female genital mutilation constitutes a particularly brutal form of violence against women and girls," acting U.S. Attorney Daniel Lemisch said in response to the arrests. "It is also a serious federal felony in the United States. The practice has no place in modern society, and those who perform FGM on minors will be held accountable under federal law."
