Zero tolerance needed

On Jan. 9, Rep. Kurt Vail, R-52, and Rep. Craig C. Fishbein, R-90, reintroduced a crucial bill protecting young girls and women in the state of Connecticut: Proposed H.B. No. 5142, An Act Prohibiting Female Genital Mutilation. The previous bill, S.B. 190, died on May 9, 2018. This bill would have made it a Class D felony punishable by up to a $5,000 fine, or up to five years in prison or both, when performing the act of female genital mutilation on a person under the age of 18 (S.B. 190, 2018). FGM had been federally outlawed for 22 years, and Connecticut and 24 other states have no protection for girls and women at risk (Ayaan Hirsi Ali, 2018). The only way to end FGM is to have a zero tolerance.

A United States district judge ruled recently that the federal ban is unconstitutional in an FGM case against two doctors in Michigan. It is clear that each state must strengthen its own laws to protect further victims from FGM. The challenge to banning FGM is that there are not enough states outlawing the practice. The Population Reference Bureau indicates 2,658 women and girls are at risk in Connecticut, and 100 million to 140 million women and young girls are affected by this barbarism worldwide (Sharfi, Elmegboul, & Abdella, 2012).

The lack of attention and the silence to this issue in the local and national news reports is disheartening. It is essential that residents of Connecticut stand with the supporters of this important bill, to become the catalyst of change and eliminate this barbaric practice forever.

Kristine Cheruk Cheshire