[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 133 (Wednesday, September 21, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: September 21, 1994]



 SENATE RESOLUTION 263--TO EXPRESS THE SENSE OF THE SENATE CONDEMNING 
      THE CRUEL AND TORTUOUS PRACTICE OF FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION

  Mr. REID submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 263

       Whereas the Senate recognizes the importance of traditions 
     and ritual rites of passage in the cultures of all nations;
       Whereas such traditions and rites should not impede or 
     violate the human rights of any person;
       Whereas the practice of female genital mutilation of girls 
     and young women under the age of 18 represents an act of 
     cruelty and a basic violation of a person's human rights;
       Whereas the aftereffects of female genital mutilation 
     include shock, infection, psychological scarring, 
     hemorrhaging, and death;
       Whereas the practice of female genital mutilation 
     represents a threat to the health of girls and young women 
     who undergo the procedure; and
       Whereas the government of Egypt should be commended for the 
     recent arrest and detention of 2 men who performed 
     circumcision on a 10-year old girl while she was bound and 
     arranged for the filming of the tortuous procedure for the 
     Cable News Network: Now therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that the 
     practice of female genital mutilation of girls and young 
     women under the age of 18 by any nation or individual is 
     condemned, and that the government of Egypt and that all 
     other governments that aggressively and appropriately decry, 
     prevent, and deter this practice through education and other 
     means be, and they hereby are, commended by the United States 
     Senate.

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I received a phone call last week from a 
long-time friend who lives in Las Vegas, NV, and we were talking about 
a number of different things. She has been involved politically in 
southern Nevada for many years. And she mentioned to me had I watched a 
certain program dealing with female genital mutilation, and I said no, 
I had not watched it.
  Well, Mr. President, as a result of her pointing out this program to 
me--I listened to her describe what she watched on television and I 
became almost sick to my stomach by listening to her describe what she 
watched on television. Coincidentally, the next day there was an 
account of this in a local Washington newspaper. Then I saw, a day or 
two later, an article reporting the arrest of two men in Egypt who 
arranged for the filming of this harrowing ritual procedure of female 
genital mutilation which was being performed on a bound, that is, tied 
up, 10-year-old girl. Words, Mr. President, cannot describe the 
feelings that one has in reading about or watching this procedure.
  As a result of reading what I did and listening to my friend Sandra 
Jolley, I became aware of the fact that I should know more about this. 
Since then, in the past week, I have read a lot and had my staff do 
research about this practice.
  Mr. President, I want everyone within the sound of my voice to 
understand that what I am going to talk about here today does not deal 
with religion and it does not deal with sex. It deals with violation of 
a person's human rights. It deals with degradation of women and young 
girls. It deals with the most inhumane thing a person can imagine.
  I have, in studying and researching this, become aware of the 
significance this ritual plays in the culture and social system in 
communities in Africa, Asia and the Middle East that practice female 
genital mutilation. At the same time, I cannot ignore the cruel and 
tortuous nature of this procedure, which is generally performed on very 
young girls who often are not aware of what is about to happen to them.
  Mr. President, I am not making statements that I just dreamed up. 
Alice Walker, who became famous for writing ``The Color Purple,'' also 
wrote an article for Ms. magazine entitled ``A Legacy of Betrayal,'' 
which tells the story of a 4-year-old girl in Gambia who is held down 
by several women, her eyes taped shut while this ``rite of passage,'' 
this mutilation is performed on this little baby girl. Alice Walker 
said,

       I thought of the woman grabbing her and of little Mary, her 
     eyes taped shut, not even knowing what or who was grabbing 
     her or what was sought. I finally started to weep, looking at 
     those small feet.

  Mr. President, what went on on cable news a little over a week ago 
involved a 10-year-old girl, who came in--it was all filmed on 
television--wearing a party dress. It was a festive occasion, this 
little girl thought. Her family was there. Other people were there. 
This little 10-year-old girl was held down by two men and her legs 
spread apart and ``the cut,'' as they call it, took place. This little 
girl screamed in pain. And as my friend from Las Vegas described, it 
reminded her of the birth that she had given to her children, because 
many times after a woman gives birth she begins shaking, after the pain 
is over, the most intense pain. That is what happened to this little 
girl, as she sobbed out, ``Daddy, why did you do this to me?''
  Mr. President, it is estimated that over 80 million young girls have 
been mutilated in this ritual. Excision and infibulation are the most 
common practices. What is infibulation? It is practiced in many 
countries and entails the excision of all the female genitalia. The 
remaining tissue is stitched together, leaving only a small opening for 
urine and menstrual fluid. Female genital mutilation has no medical 
justification for being performed on otherwise healthy young girls and 
women and is usually performed with crude, unsterile instruments 
without anesthetic. The aftereffects of this include shock, to say the 
least, infection, emotional trauma, hemorrhaging, debilitating 
scarring, infertility and death.
  Mr. President, although I believe this practice is a torturous act 
when performed on any woman, I am most concerned about it being 
performed on children and tiny young girls under the age of 18, an age 
at which a person cannot give consent. A child does not have the 
ability to consent to or even understand the significance and the 
consequence of this ritual and the consequence it will have on her 
life, on her health, or on her dignity.
  An April 1992 report by the Minority Rights Group called ``Female 
Genital Mutilation: Proposals for Change,'' describes the reality and 
effect of this procedure on children. The report states:

       The descriptions available of the reactions of children -- 
     panic and shock from extreme pain, biting through their 
     tongues, convulsions, necessity for six adults to hold down 
     an 8-year-old, and death--indicate a practice comparable to 
     torture.

  Mr. President, the societal pressures for this ritual are great, and 
I acknowledge that. But, in some of these countries even the 
protestations of a young girl's parents or relatives is not enough many 
times to stop the act. The Minority Rights Group report contains the 
testament of a young girl from Egypt on her experience:

       Once I learned I was going to be circumcised [as she called 
     it], I was filled with fear and ran as fast as my legs could 
     carry me. Soon the assistant of the operator caught up with 
     me. However, once my aunt saw how pale and frightened I 
     looked, she wanted to put off the operation. The operator 
     categorically refused and retorted: ``Do you want to change 
     your mind after all this effort? Whether you have it done now 
     or put it off to another time, the little girl will 
     experience the same fear. Let us finish with it now.'' The 
     assistant caught hold of me, stretched my legs apart and the 
     operator sterilized the area with oven ashes and alcohol, and 
     cut off the pieces with a razor.

  Mr. President, many nations have made efforts to deter the practice 
of female genital mutilation with legislation against its execution, as 
well as creating educational programs for women, and I think that is 
good. Unfortunately, despite some of these initiatives, a blind eye is 
most often turned to the continuation of ritual female genital 
mutilation. One example is that of the country of Sudan. Sudan has the 
longest record of efforts to combat the practice of female genital 
mutilation and has legislated against the procedure.
  Yet, according to the 1992 Minority Rights Group report, 80 percent 
of Sudanese women continue to be infibulated. Nevertheless, it is 
stated in this sense-of-the-Senate resolution, which I am going to 
submit today--and I hope that this Senate will send out a resounding 
approval of this resolution prior to our adjourning this year--that it 
is important that any effort by any nation, like the recent arrests by 
the Government of Egypt, to curb female genital mutilation be 
recognized and commended. In effect, what my resolution does is condemn 
the practice, and commend countries like Egypt for trying to do 
something to stop it.
  The most successful endeavors to prevent this practice have been at 
the grassroots level by women, many of whom have undergone this 
excruciating operation, unnecessary operation, with support from the 
World Health Organization, UNICEF, and other international human rights 
groups. But I say respectfully to these groups and others that they 
have not done nearly enough.
  African and Arab women have begun to speak out and we must do what we 
can to support their efforts because they are voices crying in the 
wilderness. They are working under difficult circumstances and in often 
hostile social environments for the preservation of a woman's health, 
dignity, and human rights. We must work to support and encourage their 
efforts to end this violent degradation of female children throughout 
the world and we can begin with the adoption of the sense-of-the-Senate 
resolution
  African and Middle Eastern countries are not the only ones faced with 
the difficult responsibility of bringing an end to this practice. As 
immigrants from these countries have traveled to other nations, this 
practice has traveled with them. And it has traveled to the United 
States, Mr. President.
  I am introducing today a sense-of-the-Senate resolution. I am going 
to introduce legislation in the immediate future with my colleague, 
Senator Carol Moseley-Braun, legislation that has companion legislation 
in the House to make it a crime to do this in the United States. That 
is I think the least we can do.
  The United Kingdom, Sweden, and Switzerland have all passed 
legislation prohibiting this practice in their countries. France and 
Canada maintain that this practice violates already established 
statutes prohibiting body mutilation and have taken action against its 
practice. The United States, I repeat, is also faced with the 
responsibility of abolishing this practice within its borders.
  I will be introducing with Senator Moseley-Braun, as I have 
indicated, legislation next week to outlaw this practice and to 
establish educational programs for our Nation's immigrant communities, 
that they no longer will have this done to them and that there are 
certain rights they have.
  Mr. President, I do not like to come to the Senate floor and talk 
about something that is as personal as this. It is difficult to talk 
about. But ignoring this issue because of the discomfort it causes any 
of us does nothing but perpetuate the silent acquiescence of its 
practice. The women of Africa and the Middle East and the world are 
standing up. But they need help against tremendous pressure and 
defiance to fight for the health, and dignity of their sisters, 
friends, mothers, and daughters. The least we can do is to support and 
encourage their struggle, to continue to talk about female genital 
mutilation, and to condemn its practice and its perpetuation.
  Education will be our most important and effective tool against this 
practice. I intend to do my part to educate my colleagues, 
constituents, and friends to the horrors of this ritual practice.
  Awa Thiam, a Senegalese woman, is quoted from her book, ``La Parole 
aux Negresses,'' in the Minority Rights Group report:

       If one just casts an eye over the history of the condition 
     of women--marked by struggles, it has continued to evolve, * 
     * * it's a question not of a sprint but of a marathon. So 
     women should prepare with this in mind, in order to succeed.

  The abolition of FGM is just another mile in the marathon of 
international equality for women. I am prepared to continue to talk 
about FGM, and talk about it, and talk about it, and join women across 
the globe in reaching for the finish line in the race of equality.
  Mr. President, there is a lot of information on this subject. There 
has been a lot written about it. I am surprised at how much has been 
written about it. My colleagues should know that it is not an issue 
that has been ignored. It is an issue that no one will touch because 
people are afraid because it may deal with the subject we do not like 
to talk about much, and that is sex, and another subject we do not like 
to talk about much, and that is religion. I repeat this has nothing to 
do with sex or religion. It has everything to do with human dignity and 
women's health. And, therefore, I send my resolution to the desk.
  I yield the floor.

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