Circumcision

[Balthazor]

Dad stands trial over daughter's mutilation

By LATEEF MUNGIN
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 10/22/06

A father stands accused of the unthinkable: brutally cutting his daughter's genitals.

The girl was only 2.


(ENLARGE)
Khalid Adem is accused of circumcising his 2-year-old daughter with scissors.

Monday, activists from all over the world will be focused on a Gwinnett County courtroom as Khalid Adem, accused of cruelty to a child and aggravated battery for allegedly circumcising his daughter, goes on trial.

Adem, 30, was charged with aggravated battery and cruelty to children more than three years ago and, if convicted, could face 40 years in prison. He was born in Ethiopia, where circumcision is a common procedure for young girls.

Adem's trial may be a landmark case for health and human rights activists fighting against the African custom they call genital mutilation. But for those close to the victim, this trial is about vindication and healing for a little girl who was forced to endure unbearable pain.

"When I saw that child I saw myself. I could see the pain in her eyes," said Soraya Mire, a filmmaker and activist who was circumcised when she was 13 in Somalia. Mire is known for her 1994 documentary "Fire Eyes" in which she chronicled her struggles after having the procedure.

Mire, who now lives in Los Angeles, was asked by Gwinnett authorities to counsel the victim in 2003 when it was discovered that she had been circumcised.

"She hugged me, and I just burst into tears," Mire said. "Since that day, I've been obsessed with finding out who did this to that child."

Police say Adem circumcised his daughter with scissors in his Duluth apartment, while someone else held the girl's legs.

Authorities said the circumcision occurred sometime in 2001 but the mother didn't discover it until two years later. The mother told police she learned about it while arguing with Adem about female circumcision. The mother told police that she told Adem she didn't want that to happen to their daughter, but Adem implied the circumcision had already occurred.

The mother went to a doctor who confirmed that the girl had been circumcised. The girl then told Gwinnett authorities that her father had done it. He was arrested in March 2003.

Adem has said through his defense attorney W. Mark Hill that he was innocent. Hill said the allegations stem from a bitter divorce and custody battle the couple was going through at the time. Hill has said the family of the girl's mother, Fortunate Adem, also is from Africa and could have performed the circumcision.

Georgia law changed

The African practice of female circumcision has been denounced for decades by health and human rights activists. In some areas in Africa, it is considered a coming-of-age ritual.

Opponents claim the procedure, which may involve the removal of the clitoris or all of the external genitalia, is extremely painful, medically unnecessary and unsafe. It is illegal in the United States and has been condemned by the United Nations.

The centuries-old practice is performed for many reasons, including to curtail sex drive and preserve virginity. It also is a prerequisite for marriage in some cultures, experts say.

After Adem was arrested, activists and educators flocked to metro Atlanta to denounce genital mutilation. A four-day conference on the practice sponsored by international women's rights group Equality Now was held in Atlanta three months after his arrest. The conference was originally supposed to be in Nairobi, Kenya, but was moved to Atlanta because of the national interest following Adem's arrest, said Taina Bien-Aime, executive director of Equality Now.

It is difficult to document the number of female circumcision prosecutions in the United States. Although Congress passed a law in 1996, many states still do not have their own laws forbidding the practice. But experts who follow the issue say arrests for female circumcision are rare.

"To our knowledge, this was the first documented case of [female circumcision] in the United States," said Bien-Aime, whose organization, which has offices in New York, London and Africa, has been following the issue since 1992. "We will be monitoring the trial and hope that it will help bring awareness to the issue."

Adem's arrest also had an impact on Georgia law. In 2003, there was no state law in Georgia that addressed female circumcision. That's why Adem was charged with aggravated battery and cruelty to children.

After her ex-husband's arrest, Fortunate Adem worked with Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver (D-Decatur) to get a law passed outlawing female circumcision. The law was enacted in May 2005.

If Khalid Adem had been arrested after the new law was in place, he could have faced an additional 20 years for the genital mutilation charge.

Fortunate Adem refused to comment for this article but has said her daughter suffered severe pain since the circumcision.

"Her whole life has been changed," she said. "She is going to be traumatized psychologically. Parts of her body have been taken away from her without her consent. They need to look at this child the same way they would if she had been raped."

Father claims innocence

Hill will handle the defense case and plans to call eight to 10 witnesses. He said he is trying to get three of Adem's sisters to Gwinnett from Ethiopia to testify that they had not been circumcised.

Another key piece of evidence will be the taped interview of the victim in which she told Gwinnett authorities that Adem cut her with scissors. It's unknown whether the girl, now 7, will be called to testify.

Gwinnett Assistant District Attorney Marty First will handle the prosecution's case. First declined to comment or give any details about the case.

"I will try this case in the courtroom, not in the media," First said.

While much has been heard from Fortunate Adem through her efforts in changing Georgia law, this will be the first time that Khalid Adem will publicly tell his side of the story.

He will testify and proclaim his innocence, Hill said.

Adem bonded out of jail a week after he was arrested and continues to work as a clerk at the same Snellville gas station he did before his arrest, Hill said.

Hill said there are major problems with the prosecution's case and that Adem was arrested primarily on the word of the then-2-year-old girl who could have been coached by a mother desperate to get custody. Another problem in the case, Hill said, is that the alleged circumcision, which took place in 2001, wasn't discovered or reported to police until two years later.

"What mother would not know that this has happened to their daughter for two years?" he said.

Hill said the couple's history of problems also led him to question the prosecution's charges.

Khalid Adem immigrated to the United States from Ethiopia when he was 16, Hill said. Fortunate Adem moved to this country from South Africa when she was 6, according to court documents. The two met at Georgia Perimeter College in Clarkston. The couple was married, and their daughter was born on Sept. 8, 1999. The couple had a contentious marriage and was divorced by August 2003.

Fortunate Adem was awarded full custody of the child. Adem was not granted visitation rights.

The trial is expected to last about two weeks. Jury selection will begin Monday morning.

Mire, who plans to follow the trial, said this case is about finding the truth for the little girl she once held and cried for.

"My main focus is the girl," Mire said. "I hope that she gets everything that she needs. I am a survivor of this. I know the pain that she is still going to feel. It is brutal and terrible. I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy."



I want your thoughts on this guys.

[Anomaly]

He (dad) already was found guilty. This is old news.

[Balthazor]

I realize this...I can also read the date as well as the article

The thing is if a doctor did it would it be mutilation and what is the difference between male circumcision?

[Balthazor]

I realize this...I can also read the date as well as the article

The thing is if a doctor did it would it be mutilation and what is the difference between male circumcision?

[track2004]

Personally I don't get male circumcision. I mean female circumcision is flat wrong because really they just lob the whole bit off, but I don't get why anyone but Jewish guys get cut.

[desertwoman]

Female circumcison is done to rid the female of pleasure during sex because it is believed that if a woman has pleasure with sex, then she will not be faithfull to her husband.

It is also a way to keep her a virgin untill she is married. The procedure is done with nails, glass, and rusty razors. Many females have severe scarring and die from infection. It can also have complcations with childbirth.

Male Circumcison is an old covenant, and it actually helps men, especially with hygiene.

There are AFrican children who are being kidnapped to have the procedure done to them in America, and there are females in Africa who are escaping over here to keep from having the procedure done. There is a book called Desert Flower. It's a journey about an AFrican woman who escaped this.

[KizlarAgha]

[quote name='desertwoman' post='1108830' date='Nov 2 2006, 02:30 PM']
Female circumcison is done to rid the female of pleasure during sex because it is believed that if a woman has pleasure with sex, then she will not be faithfull to her husband.

It is also a way to keep her a virgin untill she is married. The procedure is done with nails, glass, and rusty razors. Many females have severe scarring and die from infection. It can also have complcations with childbirth.

Male Circumcison is an old covenant, and it actually helps men, especially with hygiene.

There are AFrican children who are being kidnapped to have the procedure done to them in America, and there are females in Africa who are escaping over here to keep from having the procedure done. There is a book called Desert Flower. It's a journey about an AFrican woman who escaped this.
[/quote]

Male circumcision confers no medical benefits - including hygiene. Just because it is performed with a scalpel instead of a flint rock doesn't mean it isn't mutilation of the body. In fact, at one point in the history of the Jewish people, I have little doubt it was performed with a flint rock, just like many of the coming of age ceremonies in Africa.

[RC_]

[quote name='track2004' post='1108822' date='Nov 2 2006, 02:20 PM']
Personally I don't get male circumcision. I mean female circumcision is flat wrong because really they just lob the whole bit off, but I don't get why anyone but Jewish guys get cut.
[/quote]

Its not like alot of guys have a choice.

[desertwoman]

It is hygienic. Go to any ward in the hospital (espcially where my mom works) and there is a great benefit for hygiene. Sorry for being graphic, but if the male doesnt clean it will get infected. My mom has told me horror stories of the smell and sight of it all. And since some men are not hygienic at all, imagine the horror. Removing the foreskin allows men to keep that area clean. It is a must, and many people who keep the foreskin on will have to be trained to clean that area specifically. If not, watch out!!!

There are other benefits, but I don't think its appropiate right now, or in this thread.

Edited November 2, 2006 by desertwoman

[RC_]

And, not to get to graphic, but it does make the use of a catheter easier.

[KizlarAgha]

[quote name='desertwoman' post='1108840' date='Nov 2 2006, 02:37 PM']
It is hygienic. Go to any ward in the hospital (espcially where my mom works) and there is a great benefit for hygiene. Sorry for being graphic, but if the male doesnt clean it will get infected. My mom has told me horror stories of the smell and sight of it all. And since some men are not hygienic at all, imagine the horror. Removing the foreskin allows men to keep that area clean. It is a must, and many people who keep the foreskin on will have to be trained to clean that area specifically. If not, watch out!!!

There are other benefits, but I don't think its appropiate right now, or in this thread.
[/quote]

I think it is the time and the place to discuss it as Balthazor specifically asked for thoughts on how it compares to male circumcision. There are zero health benefits to circumcision. Ask any non-American non-Jewish male about it. None of my European male friends are getting infections. In fact, they think the whole idea is completely silly. Why on Earth would men have foreskins if they were detrimental? That doesn't make any sense at all. Evolution wouldn't have favored it if it caused problems.

[desertwoman]

Here is a link to the benefits of male circumcison.[url="http://www.circs.org/library/moses/index.html"]Benefits[/url]

Objectives: Globally approximately 25% of men are circumcised for religious, cultural, medical, or parental choice reasons. However, controversy surrounds the procedure, and its benefits and risks to health. We review current knowledge of the health benefits and risks associated with male circumcision.

Methods: We have used, where available, previously conducted reviews of the relation between male circumcision and specific outcomes as "benchmarks", and updated them by searching the Medline database for more recent information.

[b]Results: There is substantial evidence that circumcision protects males from HIV infection, penile carcinoma, urinary tract infections, and ulcerative sexually transmitted diseases. We could find little scientific evidence of adverse effects on sexual, psychological, or emotional health. Surgical risks associated with circumcision, particularly bleeding, penile injury, and local infection, as well as the consequences of the pain experienced with neonatal circumcision, are valid concerns that require appropriate responses.[/b][i]
Conclusion: Further analyses of the utility and cost effectiveness of male circumcision as a preventive health measure should, in the light of this information, be research and policy priorities. A decision as to whether to recommend male circumcision in a given society should be based upon an assessment of the risk for and occurrence of the diseases which are associated with the presence of the foreskin, versus the risk of the complications of the procedure. In order for individuals and their families to make an informed decision, they should be provided with the best available evidence regarding the known benefits and risks.


I'm looking for benefits of femal circumcison as we speak.

[Groo the Wanderer]

So none of your friends have gotten infections? Good for them! Glad you all sit around and discuss it regularly....


Read the medical journals...there are many documented cases of folks (usually kiddos) that HAVE gotten rather nasty infections. You think a 6 year old boy that practically has to be hogtied to take a shower and pistol-whipped to brush his teeth is gonna take the time to be especially hygenic 'down there'? Methinks you have never had kids prolly...

[RC_]

[quote name='desertwoman' post='1108848' date='Nov 2 2006, 02:45 PM']

I'm looking for benefits of female circumcison as we speak.
[/quote]

Um....it keeps women faithful to thier husband?


[/sarcasm]

[KizlarAgha]

[quote name='Groo the Wanderer' post='1108849' date='Nov 2 2006, 02:46 PM']
So none of your friends have gotten infections? Good for them! Glad you all sit around and discuss it regularly....
Read the medical journals...there are many documented cases of folks (usually kiddos) that HAVE gotten rather nasty infections. You think a 6 year old boy that practically has to be hogtied to take a shower and pistol-whipped to brush his teeth is gonna take the time to be especially hygenic 'down there'? Methinks you have never had kids prolly...
[/quote]

I'm not physically capable of having children. But, as to the whole circumcision thing, read the medical literature on the subject. Doctors across the country are realizing that the commonly held belief concerning the health benefits of circumcision were wrong.

Here is the American Academy of Pediatrics:
[url="http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/pediatrics%3b103/3/686"]http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/c...ics%3b103/3/686[/url]

They say:

Existing scientific evidence demonstrates potential medical benefits of newborn male circumcision; however, these data are not sufficient to recommend routine neonatal circumcision.

Edited November 2, 2006 by KizlarAgha