Thursday, April 29, 2010

The Girls Protection Act



Do you know what it is? Nope, it's not about abortion though it sounds like one of those "blue skies" initiatives which meant the exact reverse during the Bush era. This actually tries to protect girls from being transported outside the U.S. for the purpose of FGM:

A piece written for Salon by longtime contributor Lynn Harris has inspired Reps. Joseph Crowley and Mary Bono Mack to introduce legislation to combat the practice.

The procedure, which includes partial or complete removal of the external female genitalia, is already illegal stateside, but the Girls Protection Act "would make it a federal crime to transport a minor outside the United States for the purpose of female genital mutilation," explains a press release.

Call your congress critters and ask them to support this Act. Similar ones are already used in many other countries.

And no, such laws are no substitute for changing minds about girls and women in general.