Close X
Monday, December 2, 2024
ADVT 
International

India-born US Doctor Fakhruddin Atta, Wife Arrested For Assisting In Female Genital Mutilation

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 24 Apr, 2017 04:56 PM
    An India-born doctor and his wife have been arrested and charged with helping another Indian-origin doctor perform genital mutilations, a procedure that is criminalised in the US, on minor girls.
     
    Fakhruddin Attar, 53, and his wife, Farida Attar, 50, both from Michigan state, were charged with conspiring to perform female genital mutilations (FGM) on minor girls out of Fakhruddin Attar’s medical clinic in Livonia.
     
    The Attars were arrested on Friday.
     
    The charges come a week after Indian-origin doctor Jumana Nagarwala, 44, of Michigan, was charged with performing FGM on minor girls.
     
    Nagarwala, Fakhruddin and Farida are believed to be the first people charged under federal US law, which criminalises FGM.
     
    According to an online physician directory, Fakhruddin graduated from the Baroda Medical College in Gujarat, India in 1988.
     
    The charges say that Nagarwala used to perform the medical procedure on minor girls at Burhani Medical Clinic (BMC) in Michigan that was owned and operated by Fakhruddin.
     
    Fakhruddin’s wife was employed at BMC as an officer manager.
     
    The complaint against the Attars said that the couple arranged and assisted in the female genital mutilation of minor females performed by Nagarwala. While they allowed their clinic to be used by Nagarwala to perform the procedures, Farida assisted Nagarwala during the female genital mutilation procedures.
     
     
    Fakhruddin told federal agents this month that he has known Nagarwala and she occasionally saw patients at his clinic even though she was not employed there. He said Nagarwala only saw the patients at BMC when the clinic was closed and that Farida used to be present in the examining room while Nagarwala treated the minor girls.
     
    The investigation revealed that several minor girls informed forensic personnel that Nagarwala had performed procedures on their genitals and one minor girl said Farida had been present when Nagarwala did the FGM procedures.
     
    According to the complaint, some of the minor victims travelled interstate to have the procedure performed. The complaint alleges that the FGM procedure was performed on girls who were approximately six to eight years old.
     
    The number of girls under 18 at risk for FGM in the US has quadrupled since 1997. The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention estimates 5,13,000 women and girls are at risk of FGM in the US. FGM has been a crime under federal law since 1996 and is punishable by up to five years in prison. However, FGM is not a crime in 26 US states, including Michigan.
     
    The complaint filed against Nagarwala last week had said federal agents reviewed her telephone records and further investigation revealed that parents of two minor girls had travelled to Michigan.
     
    The girls were later interviewed by a forensic expert and one of the girls said she was told she was coming to Detroit for a “special” girls’ trip, but after arriving at the hotel, she learned that she and the other girl had to go to the doctor because “our tummies hurt.” The girls had been taken to Nagarwala, who performed the procedure on the girls.
     
    The World Health Organisation said female genital mutilation comprises all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.
     
    More than 200 million girls and women alive today have been cut in 30 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia where FGM is concentrated. WHO said FGM, which is mostly carried out on young girls between infancy and age 15, is a violation of the human rights of girls and women.

    MORE International ARTICLES

    Employers Allowed To Ban The Hijab, Rules European Union's Top Court

    Employers Allowed To Ban The Hijab, Rules European Union's Top Court
    Companies may bar staff from wearing Islamic headscarves and other visible religious symbols under certain conditions, the European Union's top court ruled on Tuesday, setting off a storm of complaint from rights groups and religious leaders.

    Employers Allowed To Ban The Hijab, Rules European Union's Top Court

    US Hate Crimes Up 20% In 2016

    US Hate Crimes Up 20% In 2016
    Hate crimes in nine US metropolitan areas rose more than 20 per cent last year, fueled by inflamed passions during the presidential campaign and more willingness for victims to step forward, said a leading hate crimes researcher.

    US Hate Crimes Up 20% In 2016

    US Must Not Adopt Transactional Approach In Ties With India: Nisha Biswal

    US Must Not Adopt Transactional Approach In Ties With India: Nisha Biswal
    The new Trump administration understands the importance of strong Indo-US ties but should not adopt any kind of "transactional approach" when it comes to this relationship, a top Indian-American official in the previous government has said.

    US Must Not Adopt Transactional Approach In Ties With India: Nisha Biswal

    WATCH: Sean Spicer Confronted in Apple Store by Indian-American Woman Shree Chauhan

    WATCH: Sean Spicer Confronted in Apple Store by Indian-American Woman Shree Chauhan
    In the video Chauhan posted on Twitter, she can be heard asking Spicer, "How does it feel to work for a fascist?" He answers, "We have a great country.

    WATCH: Sean Spicer Confronted in Apple Store by Indian-American Woman Shree Chauhan

    You're Fired! : Why Did Donald Trump Sack Preet Bharara After Saying He Could Keep His Job?

    Preet Bharara, the high-profile Indian-American federal prosecutor, who defied US President Donald Trump administration's request to resign, said he has been dismissed.

    You're Fired! : Why Did Donald Trump Sack Preet Bharara After Saying He Could Keep His Job?

    Trump's Administration Asks Indian-American Federal Prosecutor Preet Bharara To Quit

    Bharara, whose full name is Preetinder Singh Bharara, was born in Firozpur, Punjab, in 1968 and immigrated to the US as a child.

    Trump's Administration Asks Indian-American Federal Prosecutor Preet Bharara To Quit