I read a book by Ayaan Hirsi Ali a while back in which she described her experience. It horrified me and made me wonder why there isn’t more of an outcry against it, particularly since it’s being done in Western countries thanks to immigrant communities who bring the practice with them.

Part of the problem is that I think most of the countries that practice this barbarism are majority Muslim, and it is apparently off limits to criticize Islam. But the thing is, every religion/culture has troubling aspects. For example, in China they used to bind girls’ feet. Mothers did that to their own daughters to make sure they married well. Pointing out the cruelty of FGM is no more anti-Islamic than pointing out the cruelty of foot binding was anti-Chinese. We need to be willing to speak out to protect innocent victims.