[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 11 (Tuesday, February 8, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: February 8, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
   INTRODUCTION OF LEGISLATION PROHIBITING FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION

  (Mrs. SCHROEDER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. SCHROEDER. Mr. Speaker, I have a bill in that would make it 
illegal to deal in female genital mutilation in this country.
  I know many people think that this is not an issue. But in today's 
newspaper, once again, we see it as an issue in a woman who was about 
to be deported with her two young daughters.
  It is very, very frightening: If they go back home, both of the 
children will be genitally mutilated. That had happened to her, and 
that is the culture, and that is what she will be returning to. This 
appears to be some kind of a domestic dispute between herself and her 
husband.
  He refused to file a paper, and thought this would be a nice way, I 
guess, that he could get her out of here.
  But I think it tells the real horror of what has gone on in so many 
countries, and this country did not pay much attention to it. But this 
year, thank goodness, we did include that under human rights 
violations, and I hope we can pass the bill to make this illegal. I 
hope we can move to do everything we can in the world leadership 
community to put this awful barbaric practice to an end that kills so 
many young women every year needlessly.

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