Lois Frankel: “I thank Representative Perry for yielding. I have to say it was quite difficult to listen to you, not because you are…”

“I thank Representative Perry for yielding. I have to say it was quite difficult to listen to you, not because you are not articulate, but these stories are horrific. I just thank you on a bipartisan basis that we can address this horrible, horrible situation. I am rising here today and I am joining, of course, Representative Perry on International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation. I say that every girl, no matter where she is born, has a right to live free of violence. When women and girls are empowered, when they are provided access to quality healthcare and education, communities thrive. In fact, the best predictor of a country's peacefulness is how well its women are treated. Uplifting the value of women around the world is an American value that must continue. And still, there are horrific norms and cultural practices, like female genital mutilation, or we call it FGM for short, and it is holding back women from reaching their full potential. Representative Perry, I actually met a victim of this very, very cruel act last year. She came to a panel discussion. Her name was Jaha, a young woman from Gambia. She told us that when she was actually born, when she was 1 week old, she was mutilated, and that at age 15, she was married off. She told us this is very common. It is happening to something like 200 million women today.…”