(Iowa Public Radio) A Senate panel advanced a proposal Monday to make female genital cutting a crime in Iowa.
The bill would also make it a felony to transport a minor out of the state for the procedure, which is performed in Africa and some parts of the Middle East and Asia. A House panel advanced the proposal last week.
Everyone at Monday’s meeting agreed female genital cutting should be stopped, but advocates are divided on whether it should be criminalized.
“This is a culture,” said Hibo Jama, executive director of Nisaa African Family Services. “It’s a tradition they’ve been doing since a long time ago. We don’t want the practice to continue, but the approach that is being taken is a much bolder way, and we feel it will put communities at risk that are already marginalized.”
