The X-rated phenomenon of genital piercing came under stealth attack Wednesday when state representatives voted to make the practice illegal for women — but not men.
The ban was a last-minute add-on to a bill outlawing involuntary genital female mutilation, an ancient ritual practiced by some cultures.
Several senators pushed for the Senate bill that was amended in the House after hearing about a 2-year-old girl from Gwinnett County who was taken by her father to have the procedure done. But the bill passed Wednesday goes much further — ending the voluntary, decorative piercings that have been highlighted on HBO specials and in urban subculture.
"The original intent of the amendment was to make illegal the voluntary piercing of female genitalia for decorative purposes," said Rep. Bill Heath (R-Bremen).
Heath said that while some piercings do fall under the category of involuntary genital mutilation, he is fine with banning the voluntary procedures as well. "I just don't think it's appropriate," Heath said.
The bill only regulates female genital piercings. Heath said he doesn't support male genital piercings, but won't draft legislation to address the issue.
Sen. Nadine Thomas (D-Decatur), one of the key backers of the original Senate bill, was incensed about the amendment. She said a bill originally designed to protect women and girls now limits what women can do with their bodies.
"This is just another stone being thrown at women," Thomas said. "What he is doing is diminishing what we are trying to do to protect women and girls. It is gender discrimination."
The bill's main purpose is to make female genital mutilation, practiced in many African and Middle Eastern countries, a crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
Fortunate Adem contends that in 2001, her husband took their then 2-year-old daughter, Amirah, away from their home and circumcised her in a traditional African way that has been condemned by the United Nations.
The father, a 28-year-old Ethiopian immigrant who denies any wrongdoing, is accused of using a pair of scissors to remove his daughter's clitoris. The practice, commonly known in many African nations as female genital mutilation, is designed to suppress the sexual desires of girls so that they may be pure when they get married.
"It is a horrible act," Adem said. "It is painful, traumatizing and degrading."
Now divorced from her husband, Adem lobbied legislators to outlaw the practice and in February the Senate passed the Amirah Joyce Adem Act.
"I didn't think we had as many cases in this country and when she came to me, I knew I was going to be out there with her," Thomas said. "I commend her for coming forward and saying this is unacceptable in this country. I am happy that she has the guts."
Nationally, the federal Prohibition of Female Mutilation Act was enacted in 1995 to prohibit the removal of certain sexual organs on girls under age 18 unless it is medically necessary and only then if performed by a licensed medical practitioner.
"I knew in general that this was an abuse," said Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver (D-Decatur), a lawyer who represented Adem in her divorce case. "But as an Episcopalian from Druid Hills, this is not something that I knew a lot about."
Worldwide, about 130 million women have experienced some form of genital mutilation. The act is somewhat common in 28 African countries and scattered spots in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. But in 1997, the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control an Prevention estimated that 168,000 females living in the United States have had the procedure done. It is not known how many were done in the United States.
Adem has been reluctant to talk about what happened to Amirah, in part because she doesn't really know. In court records, she said that she discovered her daughter had been circumcised when she took her to a doctor. Because her husband had mentioned female genital mutilation to Adem before and because female members of his family had it done to them, Adem claimed her husband was responsible.
Khalid Adem has been charged with cruelty to children.
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