Washington, D.C
Washington D.C. Has a Key Opportunity to End Female Genital Mutilation, Protecting Thousands – Equality Now
By Anastasia Law, Program Officer for North America, Equality Now
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a serious violation of the rights of women and girls, yet this issue has long been ignored in the United States capital, Washington D.C.(District of Columbia). Currently, there is no specific law against FGM in the D.C. But this could soon change when The Female Genital Mutilation Prohibition Act of 2023, passed by the Council of the District of Columbia, is signed into law in the coming days. The Bill seeks to prevent FGM within Washington D.C. by holding those who knowingly perform or consent to FGM on any individual accountable.
FGM persists in Washington D.C.
According to 2013 estimates by the Population Reference Bureau, 51,411 women and girls have undergone or are at risk of FGM in Washington D.C. This staggering figure, based solely on reported FGM prevalence data in diaspora communities, is over a decade old, further highlighting the urgent need for updated statistics and action.
Although awareness of FGM often centers on immigrant communities, this narrative overlooks its occurrence in other groups, including in Christian communities within the U.S.
FGM has lifelong impacts on women and girls
FGM is internationally recognized as a serious human rights violation, constituting torture and an extreme form of discrimination against women and girls, which involves the partial or total removal of, or other injury to, external female genitalia for non-medical reasons. It is important to note, however, that FGM should not be conflated with gender-affirming care.
FGM can cause a range of immediate and long-term health problems, including hemorrhaging, chronic infections, infertility, childbirth complications, emotional trauma, and sexual dysfunction. In some instances, FGM can result in death and is linked to higher rates of maternal and infant mortality.
At least 513,000 women and girls are estimated to have undergone or be at risk of FGM in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Washington D.C. primed to protect its women and girls
The Female Genital Mutilation Prohibition Act of 2023, known to legislators as B25-0247, was first introduced in 2023. This legislation seeks to:
- Prohibit “any procedure performed for non-medical purposes that involves partial or total removal of, or other injury to, the external female genitalia
- Enact criminal penalties against those who perform FGM and who facilitate the act, including parents or guardians who consent to it
- Penalize “vacation cutting,” the term for taking individuals out of Washington D.C. for the purpose of undergoing FGM
- Provide survivors the right to pursue civil remedies
- Explicitly exclude gender-affirming care from its scope
In addition to addressing the act of FGM itself, the bill emphasizes education and community outreach—essential components for the sustainable implementation and eradication of this harmful practice.
Limits to the federal law against FGM
Performing FGM in the US or taking a girl out of the country for the purpose of being cut is a federal crime. However, this alone is not enough to protect women and girls in every state. Legislation outlawing FGM at the state level is crucial because states have a significantly greater capacity than federal authorities to directly assist women and girls.
State laws govern local police, healthcare, and social services, the criminal justice system, and schools. These laws enable local governments to raise awareness about FGM within local communities, provide direct support to survivors and those at risk, and investigate and prosecute cases with greater efficiency.
Recognizing these gaps, Equality Now, the US End FGM/C Network, and partners highlighted these concerns in a 2023 submission to the United Nations Human Rights Committee, The submission highlighted the US’s failure to protect women and girls within its borders from FGM and other human rights violations.
The Committee subsequently recommended the US government ensure effective implementation of its federal law- the Stop FGM Act of 2022 (also known as Strengthening the Opposition to Female Genital Mutilation Act of 2020) – and encouraged states to pass comprehensive legislation that prohibits all forms of FGM. This underscores the need for robust, state-level legal frameworks that can address the issue at its roots while supporting survivors on a local level.
Washington D.C. must join other states to protect the human rights of its residents
On December 15, 2024, B25-0247 – Female Genital Mutilation Prohibition Act of 2023, is expected to be enacted into law, representing a crucial opportunity to protect the human rights of women and girls in Washington D.C. and setting a powerful example for other states, particularly neighboring Maryland and Virginia, where gaps in legislation remain.
The Bill’s provisions on “vacation cutting”–traveling abroad to perform FGM/–offer a model for future laws and provide an opportunity for other states to use the bill’s language to strengthen existing FGM law. The bill’s application to adults as well as minors, its explicit distinction between gender-affirming care and FGM, and its emphasis on survivor-centered remedies reflect best practices in addressing this human rights violation.
Addressing the legal, social, and educational dimensions of FGM, will help to ensure that future generations are free from this harmful practice. It is imperative that the remaining 8 states and jurisdictions in the US without laws prohibiting FGM follow suit, affirming a collective commitment to the human rights of women and girls in the US. As this bill becomes law, we are hopeful that it inspires continued action and implementation to combat and eradicate FGM for all.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – Seventy-two veterans took a trip Saturday to our nation’s capital to visit memorials honoring their service in the armed forces.
This year marks the 12th trip to Washington, D.C. for Honor Flight Tallahassee.
Early Saturday morning, veterans and their guardians met to take a charter flight up to D.C.
Throughout the day, veterans were taken to the World War II memorial, as well as the Korean and Vietnam War memorials. The veterans also visited Arlington National Cemetery and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
More Tallahassee news:
The day ended with a wonderful welcome home celebration.
Our Jacob Murphey, Julia Miller, Taylor Viles, and Grace Temple accompanied the veterans, capturing moments from throughout the day.
The team will have live coverage from Washington, D.C. on Monday to share more from the day’s events.
We will continue to have coverage throughout the month of May, leading up to our Honor Flight special on Memorial Day.
To keep up with the latest news as it develops, follow WCTV on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Nextdoor and X (Twitter).
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4 things to know about the weather:
- Chances of rain in the morning
- Gusty Sunday
- Chilly Monday
- Temps will rise again through the work week
Download the NBC Washington app on iOS and Android to check the weather radar on the go.
After a nice and warm Saturday, changes arrive for part two of the weekend.
The first half of your Sunday will have a chance for showers. Winds will pick up with our next system and are expected to gust to about 20-30 mph. Cooler air will settle in, and lows Sunday night fall into the 40s.
Highs temps Monday will reach only into the mid to upper 50s.
However, temperatures will rise through the week, so you won’t need your jackets every day.
QuickCast
SUNDAY:
Showers, then partly cloudy
Wind: NW 10-15 mph
Gusts @ 30 mph
HIGH: Lower 60s
MONDAY:
Partly cloudy
Wind: NW 10-15 mph
Gusts @ 25 mph
HIGH: Upper 50s
Stay with Storm Team4 for the latest forecast. Download the NBC Washington app on iOS and Android to get severe weather alerts on your phone.
Washington, D.C
‘It’s a twilight zone’: Iran war casts deep shadows over IMF gathering in Washington
The most severe energy shock since the 1970s, the risk of a global recession and households everywhere stomaching a renewed surge in the cost of living – hitting the most vulnerable hardest.
In a sweltering hot Washington DC this week, the message at the International Monetary Fund meetings was chilling: things had been looking up for living standards around the world. But then came the Iran war.
“Some countries are in panic,” said the fund’s managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, addressing the finance ministers and central bank bosses in town for the IMF and World Bank spring meetings. “The sooner it [the Iran war] ends, the better for everybody.”
Such gatherings are not typically used to fight geopolitical battles. “You don’t get people shouting at one another at these things,” one senior figure remarked. But, as a record-breaking April heatwave swept the US capital, no one could ignore the mounting damage from the Iran war.
Those familiar with the mood over breakfast at a meeting of the G20’s representatives on Thursday, which included Donald Trump’s treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, and the outgoing US Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell – said the atmosphere in the room was sombre amid an open exchange of serious views.
“It is such a twilight-zone meeting,” said Mohamed El-Erian, a former IMF deputy managing director who is now chief economic adviser at the Allianz insurance group. “There are several shadows hanging over it: one is the shadow that comes from concern about the global economy as a whole.
“The second is that some countries are going to be particularly hard hit, and it’s mostly countries that very few people are talking about. But the third concern is the adding of insult to injury: the fact that the US, which started a war of choice, is going to be hit, but by a lot less than elsewhere in relative terms.”
Before Thursday’s breakfast, Rachel Reeves had started her day with an early-morning jog. Joined by her counterparts from Spain, Australia and New Zealand for a run down the iconic National Mall, she posted an Instagram selfie with a not-so-subtle dig: “Friends that run together – work together.”
A day earlier, the chancellor had told a CNBC conference that she thought “friends are allowed to disagree on things” as she criticised Trump’s Iran war as a “mistake” and a “folly” that had not made the world safer.
Speaking at a venue just steps away from the White House, before a one-on-one meeting with Bessent, she said this “fair message” was needed because UK families and businesses were feeling the pain from higher energy prices triggered by the conflict.
Those close to Reeves insist her meeting remained cordial. Britain and the US have significant shared interests in AI, financial services and trade. The chancellor also said the UK government had little time for the Iranian regime.
But with the IMF having warned on Tuesday that the Iran war could risk a global recession – in which Britain would be the biggest G7 casualty – it was clear Reeves had travelled to Washington ready to pick a fight.
“I’m struck by how vocal she has been and the words she used,” said one global financier. “We know the disagreement between Bessent and [European Central Bank president] Christine Lagarde earlier in the year. But that was in private.”
At a cocktail party held at the British ambassador’s residence for hundreds of diplomats and financiers – including the Bank of England’s governor, Andrew Bailey, the chief executive of Barclays, CS Venkatakrishnan, and dozens of senior figures – this transatlantic tension, weeks before King Charles’s US state visit, was a major topic of conversation.
The other, in the balmy residence gardens, was one of its former occupants, Peter Mandelson, as revelations about the former ambassador’s appointment threatened to further rock the UK government.
Before the war, the agenda for the IMF had been about global cooperation; the adoption of AI, jobs and work to eradicate poverty. Each of those tasks had now been complicated, but not least the task of countries working together.
For many at the meetings, the focus was on forging closer global cooperation without the world’s pre-eminent superpower.
“Everybody is talking about how you hedge against American decisions,” said David Miliband, the former UK foreign secretary, who now runs the International Rescue Committee. “You can’t do without them, because they’re 25% of the global economy. But, in a lot of fora, they’ve pulled out.
“So everyone has to think, how does one structure international cooperation? The old west is not coming back. And so everyone has to figure out how to position themselves for that world.”
For those gathering in Washington, there was irony in the fact that they were meeting in the halls of institutions founded, under US leadership, to promote global cooperation after the second world war. The whole idea of the Bretton Woods institutions was to avoid the dire economic conditions and warfare of the 1930s and 1940s. Yet this year’s meeting was taking place amid these intertwining problems.
In their conversations about the best economic policy response to the shock of conflict, the economists also knew the real power to make a difference lay two blocks across town from the IMF and the World Bank – behind the security cordons and construction equipment blocking the White House from public view. “It is not clear they can do anything about it,” said El-Erian.
Still, with a booming economy driven by AI – including Anthropic’s powerful Mythos model, the topic of much conversation – most countries cannot afford to completely break off US ties.
“People want to find ways to insulate themselves from the mess. But, on the other hand, they admire the US private sector,” El-Erian said. “The best way I’ve heard it put, is: they want to go long the private sector and short the mess. But it’s almost impossible to do.”
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