Two Michigan doctors are CLEARED of female genital mutilation charges as federal judge declares the FGM law ‘unconstitutional’ in historic case
A federal judge dismissed charges Tuesday against two doctors and others involved in the genital mutilation of nine girls at a Detroit clinic
US District Judge Bernard Friedman also declared a US law banning female genital mutilation unconstitutional
Friedman dismissed mutilation and conspiracy charges against Dr. Jumana Nagarwala and Dr. Fakhruddin Attar
The same charges were dismissed against Attar’s wife, Farida, and Tahera Shafiq and four women who tricked their daughters into going to the clinic
The defendants are all apart of the Muslim sect, the India-based Dawoodi Bohra
Michigan was the 26th state to officially ban the female circumcision practice
Female genital mutilation has been condemned by the United Nations but is common for girls in some parts of Asia, Africa and the Middle East
JESSA SCHROEDER
DAILYMAIL.COM
21 November 2018
A federal judge dismissed charges Tuesday against two doctors and six others involved in the genital mutilation of nine girls at a Detroit clinic, and also declared a US law banning the practice unconstitutional.
US District Judge Bernard Friedman dismissed mutilation and conspiracy charges against Dr. Jumana Nagarwala, who performed the surgery, and Dr. Fakhruddin Attar, who allowed his clinic in Livonia, Michigan, to be used for the procedure.
The same charges were dismissed against Attar’s wife, Farida, and Tahera Shafiq, who assisted in the procedure, as well as four women who tricked their daughters into going to the suburban clinic to undergo the practice for religious purposes.
Four of the nine girls are from Michigan; the others are residents of Illinois and Minnesota.
Nagarwala also admitted she performed a religious custom on girls from her Muslim sect, the India-based Dawoodi Bohra. The remaining defendants are also apart of the sect.
Nagarwala pleaded not guilty last month to the two remaining charges she now faces.
She still faces conspiracy to travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct and obstruction charges. Others in the case face obstruction charges.
Friedman argued in his 28-page opinion that Congress ‘overstepped its bounds by legislating to prohibit female genital mutilation.’
He wrote: ‘FGM is a “local criminal activity” which, in keeping with long-standing tradition and our federal system of government, is for the states to regulate, not Congress.
Michigan was the 26th US state to officially ban the practice, also known as female circumcision or cutting.
The state law was passed a few months after Nagarwala’s April 2017 arrest.
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