Condemning Female Genital Mutilation

Floor Speech

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Mr. PERRY. Mr. Speaker, I stand in support of H. Res. 106, which condemns female genital mutilation, or cutting, as a violation of the human rights of women and girls and calls for a coordinated response from the United States Government and the international community to end this horrific and abhorrent practice.

I am proud of the bipartisan effort that has gone into this resolution, and I want to thank Representative Lois Frankel from Florida for coleading this resolution with me, which gives us the opportunity to bring renewed attention to the harm that FGM causes innocent girls and highlights the actions needed to eliminate this unspeakable act.

As the House considers this resolution, there are over 200 million women and girls alive today who have been affected by FGM. This year alone, an estimated 3 million girls are at risk of being mutilated. This despicable practice simply must end.

I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this effort to condemn and end FGM in the United States and across the globe. There is much more work that must be done to combat FGM, and I hope that we continue this bipartisan work.

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