America’s Next Women’s Rights Priority – Michele Hanash, RealClearPolitics

On March 8, the world will celebrate International Women’s Day under this year’s theme, “Give to Gain.” The phrase is aspirational; a call to invest in women and girls so that societies, economies, and nations grow stronger in return.

But if we are serious about giving in order to gain, then we must confront an uncomfortable truth: female genital mutilation (FGM) is happening in the U.S. and it’s not being given the attention it deserves, and we are losing ground because of this failure.

International Women’s Day commemorates the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women while urging accelerated action toward gender equality. Yet gender equality is not possible while ambiguity surrounds a practice that targets girls precisely because they are girls, and profoundly impacts their development as women.

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