Political Quotes

“I come to the floor today not to talk about a political issue, in the real sense of the word--not Democrat versus Republican--but a very difficult sensitive issue. It is hard to talk about, but we as a nation can't keep ignoring this important topic. It has been more than 20 years since I learned about something called female genital mutilation, known as FGM. Since then, I have spoken often against this awful procedure and the devastating effect it has on women and girls around the world. A number of people warned me 20 years ago that this isn't a subject I should talk about. It was taboo. They thought it would be untoward for me to do so. But I told them I had to because no one else was talking about it. So I am going to continue doing everything I can to bring attention to this issue and fight to end this horrible, awful, brutal practice perpetrated against women and girls. It was a 1994 cable news program that introduced me to this practice. One of my friends in Las Vegas said: You can't imagine this. This was a young woman who sent this to me. I didn't expect getting this from her or anyone else. But we were friends, and so I watched this. She said: You have to. And I did: A 10-year-old little girl in a party dress held down by two men, her legs spread apart, and she was brutally mutilated as her genitals were cut away. These images have continually haunted me over the years. I will never ever forget the picture that I saw.…”