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This Detroit Physician And His Wife Have Been Charged With Conspiring To Commit Female Genital Mutilation

They allegedly worked with a female physician who was believed to be the first in the U.S. charged with the same crime.

Two new doctors have been criminally charged with conspiring to commit female genital mutilation (FGM).

Dr. Fakhruddin Attar and his wife Farida were arrested Friday morning (April 21) in Livonia, Michigan. According to a statement from the Department of Justice, they allegedly worked with a female physician who is believed to be the first in the United States actually charged with the crime.

The complaint alleges that the two doctors allowed Jumana Nagarwala – a physician who was charged with performing FHMs on April 13 – to carry out the same procedures at the Burhani Medical Clinic. They say Farida was present at the time of the procedures to comfort patients.

Female genital mutilation is recognized internationally as a human rights violation by the World Health Organization (WHO) and affects nearly 200 million girls and women from Christian and Muslim-majority communities globally.

Some alleged victims were minors as young as six who seeked the procedure from other states, according to the complaint. On February 3 of this year, two seven-year-old girls were taken to Attar’s clinic for the operation. Two adult women from Minnesota accompanied them to the Burhani Medical Clinic where the procedure was performed on both children.

Head over to Buzzfeed to read the full complaint.

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