Sheila Jackson Lee: “Let me thank the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Lowey) and the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Rogers) for their great…”

“Let me thank the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Lowey) and the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Rogers) for their great leadership. But let me thank the gentlewoman from New York again for her overall leadership as chair of the Appropriations Committee, and her ranking member as well. These are the tools of female genital mutilation. Around the world, there are young girls and women who are facing this kind of brutal attack. My amendment, which makes a good bill even better, provides $1 million more to help combat the draconian practice of female genital mutilation, cutting, FGM/C, abroad. 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 nonmedical purposes. This practice is rooted in gender inequality and is often linked to other elements of gender-based violence and discrimination, such as child marriage, recognized internationally as a violation of the human rights of women and girls. Unfortunately, this means an estimated 200 million girls and women alive today have been victims already of FGM/C, female genital mutilation, with girls 14 and younger representing 44 million of those who have been cut. For example, around the world, at least five girls are mutilated, cut. More than 3 million girls are estimated to be at risk.…”