Indian American doctor gets bail in female circumcision case

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Indian American doctor, Jumana Nagarwala, 44, was granted bail after spending five months in jail for performing female circumcision, also known as female genital mutilation (FGM).

According to clickondetroit.com, the bail which was set at $4.5 million was raised by 17 friends and family members who placed their personal property as collateral and was initially denied by the federal judge who considered her a flight risk.

Nagarwala was arrested after attempting to board a flight to Kenya.

Nagarwala is currently under house arrest and will be tagged with a GPS tracker, her bank accounts have been frozen and her passport will be confiscated

According to an Alpha News report, Nagarwala was the first of several individuals to be arrested by federal authorities for cutting the genitalia of more than 100 young girls in a clinic outside of Detroit, Michigan, for 12 years.

Two, 7-year-old Minnesota girls Haseena Halfal and Zainab Hariyanawala, became the main focus of the case after their mothers brought them to the clinic for the illegal procedure.

Both of the mothers of the Minnesota girls were indicted last week by federal prosecutors for conspiracy to defraud and female genital mutilation.

According to the World Health Organization, female genital mutilation is identified as “procedures that intentionally alter or cause injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons,” though it has no health or medical purpose, the practice is a popular tradition in eastern cultures.

Nagarwala says she is innocent however, is expected to stand trial on October 10.