As many as 100 girls underwent genital mutilation at Detroit clinic, prosecutors say
As many as 100 girls were victims of genital mutilation at a Detroit-area clinic, prosecutors say.
Three people have been charged in the case, which alleges the clinic performed the genital cutting as part of religious practice. The Levonia, Michigan clinic was owned by Fakhruddin Attar, who is a medical doctor, and Detroit emergency room doctor Jumana Nagarwala is accused of performing the procedures in the facility. Attar’s wife Farida Attar is accused of being present in the examination room to comfort girls during the mutilation, also known as female circumcision.
The three are part of a sect of Islam called Dawoodi Bohra, a Shiite branch of the faith based in Gujarat, India. It has an estimated 1.2 million followers worldwide, some of whom have expressed concern Bohras are approaching cult status instead of being a legitimate branch of the Muslim faith.
The complaint alleges the clinic began performing the procedures as early as 2005, and assistant U.S. attorney Sara Woodward said in court Wednesday Nagarwala did so on as many as 100 girls in the following 12 years. The children were between the ages of six and nine. In a statement to NBC, Nagarwala’s lawyer denied that accusation and called them “quite frankly wrong” and “clear overreach by the government in overstating its case.”
All three have denied the charges.
The Attars appeared in federal court Wednesday and were released on $10,000 federal bond and the condition that they remain under house arrest while being electronically monitored. They had been in jail since their arrest in April.
Nargarwala was also arrested in April. The Department of Justice said it believed she and the Attars were the first people to be charged in the U.S. in a case of female genital mutilation. The practice is illegal in the U.S., and can be punishable by a fine and up to five years in prison. The law prohibits the practice even in cases of religious custom or ritual.
Nargarwala and the Attars are accused of performing female genital mutilation on two Minnesota girls in February. The girls, both 7 years old, were allegedly brought to Michigan specifically for the procedure, under the pretense of “a special girl’s trip.” One girl told investigators they were brought to the doctor “because our tummies hurt” and underwent a procedure “to get the germs out.” She identified Nargarwala in a photo as the woman who performed the procedure.
The other girl identified Farida Attar as a woman present in the room during her procedure. That child was told by her parents that what had happened was a secret and she shouldn’t talk about it. She could barely walk after the procedure, the child said.
On Thursday, the Michigan House passed a bill that would extend the statute of limitations for victims of female genital mutilation to 10 years after they turned 18. It would also make performing the act or transporting a victim to the procedure a felony punishable by up to 15 years in jail and a $25,000 fine.
This story was originally published June 9, 2017 at 2:49 PM with the headline "As many as 100 girls underwent genital mutilation at Detroit clinic, prosecutors say."