Father Imprisoned for Genital Cutting Is Deported to Ethiopia<br />"The elimination of female genital mutilation/cutting has broad implications for the health and human rights of women and girls, as well as societies at large." The World Health Organization has estimated<br />that more than 200 million girls and women have been cut in 30 countries, mostly in Africa, the Middle East and Asia.<br />By DANIEL VICTORMARCH 14, 2017<br />A man who in 2006 became the first person in the United States to be convicted of female genital cutting was deported<br />on Monday to his home country, Ethiopia, after serving 10 years in prison, federal authorities said.<br />The procedure, which involves the removal of parts of the genitalia, is typically performed on girls before they turn 15<br />and leads to a wide range of lifelong health consequences, including chronic infection, childbirth complications, psychological trauma and pain during urination, menstruation and intercourse.<br />The case led to a state law prohibiting the practice, which was already prohibited by a federal law<br />and is a common social ritual in parts of the world but is broadly condemned.<br />Though it is illegal under federal law, about half a million women have undergone the procedure or are likely<br />to be subjected to it, according to a 2012 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.<br />In 2013, lawmakers extended the federal ban to include "vacation cutting," in which<br />American-born girls are sent to other countries to have the cutting performed.
