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Restore Asylum for Those Subjected to Female Genital Cutting

by Physicians for Human Rights Asylum Network | 02.18.2008

Take Action to Protect Women Seeking Asylum Please contact your Representative in the House today to urge that he or she sign onto a letter requesting that the Attorney General review the recent decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), In re A-T.

Since its 1996 decision, In re Kasinga, the Board has recognized female genital cutting (FGC) as persecution. However, In re A-T marks a significant departure from the advances made for women's rights in the Kasinga decision. In A-T, the BIA ruled that past FGC is not a basis for asylum because, unlike forced sterilization, FGC was not deemed to be a continuing harm. The decision also failed to recognize forced marriage as persecution. A powerful New York Times article provides background on the case.

A bi-partisan sign-on effort, sponsored by Representative Steve Rothman (D-NJ) and Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ), is underway in the House of Representatives to request that the Attorney General review the decision. The more Representatives that sign on, the greater the pressure will be on the AG to review the case.

Members who have signed on so far include:

1. Steve Rothman (D-NJ)
2. Chris Smith (R-NJ)
3. Allyson Schwarz (D-PA)
4. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY)
5. Chaka Fattah (D-PA)
6. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)
7. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)
8. Jim Moran (D-VA)
9. Mike Honda (D-CA)
10. Tom Allen (D-ME)
11. Joe Pitts (R-PA)
12. Jim McGovern (D-TX)
13. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)
14. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA)
15. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL)
16. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY)
17. Albert Wynn (D-MD)
18. Al Green (D-TX)
19. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY)
20. Steve Cohen (D-TN)
21. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA)
22. Betty McCollum (D-MN)
23. Ellen Tauscher (D-CA)
24. Lois Capps (D-CA)
25. Betty Sutton (D-OH)
26. Jose Serrano (D-NY)
27. Howard Berman (D-CA)
28. Bill Delahunt (D-MA)
29. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL)
30. Brad Miller (D-NC)
31. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC)
32. Sander Levin (D-MI)

Your support is needed! If your Representative has not yet signed on, contact him/her by calling the US Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 or by going to https://forms.house.gov/wyr/welcome.shtml. Tell your Representative that:

* The BIA's decision in In re A-T is a significant departure from the United States' commitment to protect women's rights across the globe.
* The Board's reasoning in this case misconstrues the nature of FGC as simply a one-time act, rather than recognizing the severe ongoing medical and psychological harm that FGC causes, as well as its purpose to further subjugate women in society.
* The Board failed to recognize forced marriage as persecution, signaling a general hostility toward, and ignorance of, women's human rights.
* The U.S. has a proud history of protecting the rights of women who are forced to flee grave human rights violations in their home countries. We must not allow the U.S. to turn its back on the courageous women who simply wish to have their fundamental rights to autonomy and bodily integrity recognized.

Please urge your representative to sign on to the letter by having them contact Shelly Stoneman in Congressman Rothman's office at: Shelly.Stoneman@mail.house.gov or 202-225-5061.



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