Russia orders inquiry into claims of FGM in Dagestan

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Source: The Guardian

Russia orders inquiry into claims of FGM in Dagestan

Human rights groups allege female genital mutilation has been
carried out on tens of thousands of girls in North Caucasus

Rachel Horner
Saturday 5 November 2016 11.28 GMT

Russia has launched an investigation into claims that tens of thousands of girls in remote mountain areas, some as young as three months’ old, have been forced to undergo female genital mutilation.

The general prosecutor’s office has acted following allegations that the life-threatening practice has been taking place “unchecked by the authorities” in the republic of Dagestan, Russia’s state-run news agency Tass reported

The inquiry comes after the human rights organisation Russian Justice Initiative (RJI) released detailed evidence that tens of thousands of girls, including some as young as three months’ old, have been subjected to FGM in remote mountain areas of Dagestan, a restive Russian republic in the North Caucasus region.

The RJI report said the practice had been going on “without any attention whatsoever from the authorities”, and that FGM was seen in some villages as an initiation ceremony and “necessary to curb a woman’s sexuality”.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/nov/05/russia-orders-inquiry-into-claims-of-fgm-in-dagestan

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Dagestan has been the scene of clashes between Russian forces and Islamist insurgents since the 1990s and ethnic tensions run high. It is also an area where local tribal and Muslim codes often hold more weight than Russian law.