F.A. Cole was 11 when her stepmother told her to dress up for a special occasion near her hometown of Freetown, Sierra Leone. 

 

It was, instead, a traumatic occasion, Cole recalls 34 years later. Her stepmother turned her over to a small group of women, who led her into a forest and bound and blindfolded her. Then someone put a razor blade to her genitals.  

 

“Two or four of the women held me down. They spread my legs open and pinned me down, and then the woman who was the cutter, she sat on my chest,” Cole recounts. “As she began to cut my clitoris, I began to fight and scream and wriggle under her, just looking for somebody to help me, somebody to come to my rescue.” 

 

No one came then. But the United Nations has been working to eradicate female genital mutilation. To raise awareness, the U.N. since 2003 has sponsored an International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM to raise awareness. The annual observance was on Wednesday.  

 

FGM is widespread in parts of Africa and also practiced here in the United States. The procedure has sparked a global clash between those who define it as a cultural tradition and those who say it’s a dangerous ritual that should end. 

 

Lingering questions 

 

Cole recalls days of excruciating pain and years of wondering why she was cut.  

 

“When I came to America and I started doing research, and I started talking about my story, that’s when I realized the damage — not just the sexual damage, but the psychological damage that was done,” says Cole, who now lives in Washington and campaigns to end FGM.   

The World Health Organization identifies three types of FGM most common in Africa. In type one, the clitoris is partially or totally removed. Type two goes further, including the labia. And type three involves removing the labia and stitching to narrow the vaginal opening. 

 

The cultural practice can have serious medical consequences. Physicians at major U.S. medical centers and teaching hospitals worry whether American doctors are equipped — medically and culturally — to treat women who have been circumcised.  

Dr. Ranit Mishori, a professor of family medicine at Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, recalls an experience in the second month of her residency. A woman from Djibouti, in East Africa, was in labor.  

 

“I was getting ready to do a pelvic examination, and I put my gloves on and suddenly I realize I can’t put my fingers in there because the whole area is closed off,” Mishori said of the patient’s vagina. “I had no idea what that meant. I called my senior physicians and they had no idea what was going on. The bottom line is a lot of doctors don’t know what to expect, don’t know how to handle these types of emergencies.” 

 

A call for communication and respect 

 

That experience inspired Mishori to teach other doctors about FGM, especially as they treat more immigrants from Africa, Asia and the Middle East.  

 

She stresses communication and cultural humility. 

 

“We can’t forget that some women are very proud [of being circumcised], because that ensures their marriageability and economic prospects,” Mishori says, adding that medical personnel must learn “to ask about it in a nonjudgmental way.” 

 

Respectful questioning, she says, is “more important than how to deal with the medical complications, even though they are there. In some women, the cutting has healed. There are no scars, maybe … but the long-term effects are here and here,” she adds, pointing first to her head, then her heart. 

 

Not everyone agrees the practice should be banned.  

Anthropologist Fuambai Ahmadu, who lives in Washington and also is from Sierra Leone, says she was circumcised, not mutilated. She was an adult when she chose to undergo the procedure — the most minimal type of circumcision. 

 

Ahmadu testified on behalf of Dr. Jumana Nagarwala, who was among eight people facing federal charges over the genital mutilations of nine girls from Michigan, Illinois and Minnesota. As the Associated Press reported, U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman in November dismissed mutilation and conspiracy charges against the defendants, saying the 1996 law banning the practice was unconstitutional.       

 

A rite of passage 

 

Ahmadu says circumcision is a rite of passage into womanhood in Kono culture. She believes anti-FGM campaigners are putting African cultures under siege. 

 

“The grand narrative of mutilation is completely inappropriate,” says Ahmadu. “… It’s really important that FGM campaigners understand that the messages that they’re sounding out to women, they’re not working, they’re not effective,” she says. “What they’re doing is driving the practice underground.”  

 

She says some families are reacting to the pressure by bringing in their daughters for circumcision at younger ages — sometimes even as babies. She advocates that girls should have a choice in whether to undergo the procedure and that they should wait until at least age 16  to understand the cultural significance. 

 

“This is a coming-out ceremony, where they are celebrated and they are now women,” Ahmadu says. 

 

It was no celebration for Cole, who says her circumcision made her less desirable to men in Sierra Leone.  

 

“It was supposed to make me more marriageable, but I’m 45 and still single,” she says. “So what was that?” 

 

This report originated in VOA’s English to Africa service. 
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Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence, one of the most popular film stars in the world, is engaged to her boyfriend, an art gallery director, multiple media outlets reported Tuesday.

Her future husband is Cooke Maroney, 34, her representative confirmed to People Magazine, the publication reported on its website.

Lawrence, 28, was spotted wearing a “massive ring” and enjoying what appeared to be a celebratory dinner with Maroney at a French restaurant in New York City recently, according to Page Six, which reports on celebrities.

She won the Oscar as best actress for her role in the 2012 romantic comedy Silver Linings Playbook. Also known for her role as the heroine archer Katniss Everdene in the blockbuster Hunger Games film series, Lawrence has been nominated for three other Oscars for her roles in Winter’s Bone, American Hustle and Joy.

Maroney is an art gallery director at the Gladestone Gallery in New York, USA Today reported.

Neither Lawrence’s manager or a spokesperson with her public relations firm were immediately available for comment early Wednesday. Telephone calls to Maroney’s art gallery were not immediately returned.

No date for the nuptials has been announced.
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A new museum in Milwaukee may well hold the largest collection of bobbleheads anyone has ever seen, displaying more than 6,500 figures of athletes, mascots, celebrities, animals, cartoon characters, politicians and more.

The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum recently opened and was the brainchild of friends Phil Sklar and Brad Novak, who started collecting the figures 16 years ago.

“We’ve put everything into this,” Sklar said.

They decided on a museum and bobblehead-creating business about four years ago, after quitting their corporate finance [Sklar] and retail sales [Novak] jobs. Since then, they have been making bobbleheads to earn money, collecting bobbleheads from thrift stores and private donors, finding a location and all the other things that go with creating a museum.

They have collected more than 10,000 bobbleheads, including a life-size bobblehead; a Pat Hughes bobblehead calling the World Series title for the Cubs; bobbleheads of characters from “The Wizard of Oz” and the “Star Wars” franchise; and the first football and baseball bobbleheads from the early 1960s. They even have one of Donald Trump from “The Apprentice” that says “You’re fired” upon the push of a button.

Some of the figures will be on rotation or part of special exhibits — like, say, if a certain sports team is in town.

The museum also includes information about the making of bobbleheads and the people they represent. Admission is $5.

“I think that passion comes from the fun aspect and seeing the reaction people get when they see the bobbleheads,” Sklar said.

Sklar and Novak are in the process of having the collection certified as the world’s largest by the Guinness Book of World Records. The current record is 2,396 bobbleheads, held by Phil Darling, a 40-year-old hardware engineer from Richmond, Ontario. He’s acquired an additional 500 since the certification in 2015.

Darling said that while he will be disappointed not to hold the record anymore, he does hope to one day make it to Milwaukee to see the collection and meet Sklar and Novak.

“It’s on my bucket list” he said.

A smaller bobblehead museum exists at Marlins Park in Miami, but its more than 600 figurines are all baseball players, mascots and broadcasters.

Sklar said he hopes the museum will attract bobblehead fans as well as “people looking for something fun to do.”

“There are so many negative things going on … we need more places to escape and have a good time and also educate at the same time so hopefully we will be an asset to the community,” said Sklar.
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The first time Tobias Forge walked up to collect a Grammy, few people knew his name – and that was purposeful. 

The leader of the Swedish metal group Ghost fiercely protected his anonymity and hid behind thick ghoulish makeup. Things will be different if he wins this year.

If Forge’s band’s name is called, he will go up as himself, leaving aside his costume and alter ego. He has two chances: Ghost is up for best rock album and best rock song. It’s a category switch from 2016, when it won for best metal performance. 

Forge, who creates demonic characters for every album, has slipped into his latest, the creepy Cardinal Copia, to tour with the new CD, “Prequelle,” which continues the band’s ability to mix the metal of Scorpions or Ratt with a surprisingly tight sax solo. Forge was unmasked in 2017 when former band members sued him, forcing him to reveal his identity.

“Prequelle” hit No. 3 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and No. 1 on the top rock album list, spawning the Top 20 rock hits “Rats” and “Dance Macabre.”

Forge took time out from Ghost’s European tour to chat with The Associated Press by phone about his sound, switching categories and losing his anonymity.

​AP: In 2016, you seemed kind of restrained for a guy who just won a Grammy. Were you playing it cool? 

Forge: I guess I am a somewhat composed guy. But, obviously, the last time you saw me there, also, we were in character. And it doesn’t really translate very well. Any sentiments you may have – unless it’s wrath – it won’t show very well. But I was ecstatic, absolutely. 

AP: Will you attend the awards in character this time?

Forge: From a comfort level and just to make it doable, we’re just leaving the Cardinal in Germany to wait for us to come back. He has to stay there. But, you know, we’ll get him a room and a harem. He’ll be fine. 

AP: At the ’16 Grammys, you competed in the metal category. This year, you’re in two rock categories. Have they changed the way they look at you or have you changed your approach to music?

Forge: Each record is its own being but you will recognize the style – there are certain fingerprints in there, there are certain traces of DNA – that will be unmistakably mine. But I personally don’t believe that our step is so far out of the zone that we should naturally change categories. 

AP: Is being in the rock category more intimidating?

Forge: All of a sudden, you’re playing with the big boys and girls. Over time, the best rock category has had Coldplay, Kings of Leon, Foo Fighters, The Killers – all these bands that are obviously bigger than we are. You’re playing in a different league. I don’t feel certain about winning at all. I wouldn’t even if we were in the metal category. We’ll see what happens. I’m just happy to be nominated once again. 

AP: The Grammys seem to have a fluid idea of what you make. How do you call what you do?

Forge: I don’t feel the need to categorize what we do. Let me put it this way, if I’m in a cab, and the cab driver says, “What do you sound like?” Depending on the age, if it’s someone likely to know who Alice Cooper is, I’d say, “Well, it’s theatrical rock, kind of like Alice Cooper or Kiss.” That’s basically what it is in laymen’s terms. At the end of the day, I think that the easiest way to explain it is melodic rock music with a big theatrical presentation.

AP: You’ll be opening for Metallica on tour this summer. How does that feel?

Forge: I grew up with Metallica. Definitely from an early age, I became a fan. They’ve inspired me tremendously. Obviously, one of my favorite bands. A huge inspiration musically. They’ve been mentors without practically doing it themselves. They’ve always mentored me. Without them, I wouldn’t be here.

AP: Your anonymity was taken away a few years ago. How has the transition been?

Forge: I had to reconfigure things, especially in my head. I was very, very happy being anonymous. It made things easy. I could say yes to just a few things and no to everything else. Everything was cool. But being in an anonymous band doesn’t go very well with the idea of wanting to become a known band. And it’s always been like that. If you want to become known, it kind of rules out the idea of not being known. It’s a contradiction. 
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Brayan Jimenez, a former head of Guatemalan soccer’s governing body, was sentenced Tuesday to time served and fined $350,000 after pleading guilty for his role in the FIFA corruption scandal uncovered by U.S. prosecutors.

Judge Pamela K. Chen issued the sentence during a 70-minute hearing in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn. Jimenez faced up to 40 years in prison for racketeering conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy, and while Chen explained that federal guidelines called for a sentence of 41 to 51 months, she concluded Jimenez’s cooperation and remorse mitigated the situation.

Chen noted Jimenez had been held in custody for 50 days and spent four to five months under home detention and about three years in Miami living under a court-ordered curfew.

Jimenez is now subject to two years of supervised release. The sentence included a lifetime ban from holding any position in professional soccer — he previously was banned by FIFA.

His lawyer, Justine A. Harris, said Jimenez intends to leave the United States and return to Guatemala within 30 days. He already has paid $100,000 of the fine and will pay 10 percent of his monthly income after resuming his dental practice to cover the remainder. The $350,000 matches about what Jimenez received in bribes, assistant U.S. attorney M. Kristin Mace said.

Jimenez was president of the National Football Federation of Guatemala from December 2009 until May 2015.

‘Tormented’ by mistake

“There are no excuse and no justification for my actions,” he told the court, his words translated from Spanish. “My actions have brought shame to the world of football.”

Jimenez said that at the time of the crime, he had been a longtime alcoholic. He said he had been attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, undergoing counseling and had been sober for 1,118 days.

“Every day I’ve had to fight in order to not fall off a cliff,” he said.

His wife and three children watched from the front row, and a woman in his family delegation broke into tears and made the sign of a cross when Chen read the sentence.

Jimenez dabbed his eyes with a tissue and blew his nose while reading his statement.

“In accepting these payments, I violated my moral principles, my honesty and my honor,” he said. “I’ve been tormented by this great mistake I made.”

He was charged in November 2015 as part of the second wave of indictments in the Justice Department’s investigation into soccer corruption. He pleaded guilty in July 2016 to one count of racketeering conspiracy and one count of wire fraud conspiracy. Each count carried a possible sentence of 20 years to be served either concurrently or consecutively. The other seven counts against him were dismissed Wednesday.

Jimenez’s sentence showed the benefit of cooperation with prosecutors.

‘Rampant’ corruption

Juan Angel Napout, a former president of Paraguay’s federation and the South American governing body CONMEBOL, was sentenced to nine years in prison last summer after being found guilty at trial. Jose Maria Marin, a former president of Brazil’s soccer federation, also was found guilty and was sentenced to four years in prison, ordered to forfeit $3.3 million and pay a $1.2 million fine.

Hector Trujillo, the former secretary of Guatemala’s federation, pleaded guilty and received an eight-month prison term in 2017 in the first sentence in the case.

Chen said there was a “rampant nature of bribery and corruption in FIFA” and its constituents.

Jimenez said he arranged to obtain bribes worth hundreds of thousands of dollars for himself and another federation official during negotiations with the Miami-based company Media World, later known as Imagina US. He said the money was wired from Media World in the U.S. to other people’s accounts in Guatemala, and his share was then distributed to him. Jimenez said the payments were in exchange for media rights for Guatemala’s home World Cup qualifiers in 2018 and ’22, and for giving two individuals the right to organize exhibition games involving Guatemala’s national team.

“This is a very serious crime or crimes,” Chen said, noting Jimenez had taken an extra $200,000 bribe that he kept secret from his co-conspirators.

Jimenez, a member of the FIFA committee for fair play and social responsibility, was banned from soccer for life in April 2017 after the adjudicatory chamber of FIFA’s ethics committee said he violated the FIFA code of ethics’ articles on general rules of conduct; loyalty; duty of disclosure, cooperation and reporting; conflicts of interest; and bribery and corruption.

Imagina US, majority owned by the Spanish company Imagina Media Audiovisual, pleaded guilty on July 18 to two counts of wire fraud conspiracy in connection with the participation by two of its executives in more than $6.5 million in bribes to officials of the Caribbean Football Union and four Central American national federations. Imagina US agreed to forfeit $5,279,000 in proceeds, of which $790,000 was restitution to Guatemala’s federation. In addition, Imagina Media agreed to pay a fine of $12,883,320 on behalf of Imagina US as part of a non-prosecution agreement. 
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This year’s Oscar ceremony will go ahead without an official host for only the second time in its history, an ABC television executive said Tuesday.

Speaking just three weeks before the highest honors in the movie industry are handed out, ABC entertainment president Karey Burke said the Feb. 24 event would forgo a host and “just have presenters host the Oscars.”

ABC, a unit of Walt Disney Co, televises the Oscars ceremony annually and is closely involved in planning the telecast.

Comedian Kevin Hart in December stepped down from hosting the Oscars after past homophobic tweets resurfaced. No replacement was announced but there had been no official statements on how the ceremony would proceed.

The Oscars ceremony has gone without a host only once before in its 91-year history, in 1989.

Burke said the decision was taken after what she called “the messiness” over the Hart withdrawal and an attempt to revive his chances.

“After that, it was pretty clear that we were going to stay the course and just have presenters host the Oscars. We all got on board with that idea pretty quickly,” Burke told reporters at the Television Critics Association meeting in the Los Angeles suburb of Pasadena.

She said the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which organizes the Oscars, had promised ABC last year to keep the telecast to three hours — about 30 minutes shorter than in recent years.

“So the producers, I think, decided wisely to not have a host and to go back to having the presenters and the movies being the stars,” Burke said.

The Oscars host traditionally opens the ceremony with a comedic monologue focusing on celebrities, the state of the movie industry, and cultural and political issues.

Burke said she would hear details from the show producers later this week but said there were plans for “a pretty exciting opening” to the telecast.

She added that speculation over the shape of the ceremony was an encouraging sign that the Oscars were still relevant.

Audiences have dropped in recent years with the 2018 show attracting just 26.5 million viewers, the smallest number ever.

“I have found that the lack of clarity around the Oscars has kept the Oscars in the conversation and that the mystery has been really compelling. People really care,” she said.

Mexican drama Roma and British historical comedy The Favourite lead the Oscars nominations with 10 nods apiece.

Burke noted that three of the other best picture nominees — Disney’s Black Panther, Warner Bros A Star is Born and 21st Century Fox musical Bohemian Rhapsody — had each taken in more than $200 million at the North American box office alone.

“I think we are going to see a big turnout for this because these are big popular movies that have been nominated,” she said.
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Music is helping to heal students displaced by the fires that raged through Northern California in November. More than 100 students from five schools in the fire-ravaged region are sharing their message of hope through song and dance.

Called Voices Strong United, the choir of more than 100 students has performed in affected communities since December. Half of the performers lost their homes, and all have been affected by the massive dislocation. 

“On Nov. 8,” recalled retired music teacher Seth Gronseth, “the fire burned our hometown of Paradise and scattered 50,000 people from that ridge all over California and Oregon and Washington.” 

Several other local communities were also devastated. Gronseth lost his home, as did thousands of his neighbors. He traveled with the choir to Southern California to perform for the National Association of Music Merchants in Anaheim, or NAMM. With more than 100,000 attendees, it’s one of the largest music trade shows in the world.

The so-called Camp Fire was one of a several destructive blazes that raged throughout California late last year and was the deadliest in state’s history. The fire killed more than 80 people and destroyed thousands of homes and businesses, leaving much of the town of Paradise in ashes.

​At the suggestion of a school administrator, Gronseth, who had retired from teaching at Paradise High School, helped create the choir to lift the community’s spirits. Their repertoire includes the Broadway show tune You Will Be Found and the inspirational anthem Rise Up, popularized by singer Andra Day.

Choir member Aaron Cagle also lost her home and is thrilled to be involved in the musical project.

It is “awesome,” she said, “that I get to be part of this thing that everybody is contributing to,” adding that “everyone is pulling together after the fire and helping each other out.” 

Among the displaced teens was a Brazilian exchange student who was evacuated from Paradise, along with her host family, as the flames approached.

The choir “is a way of reconstructing not only the community, but ourselves, after what happened,” said Thais Santana. “It’s very, very healing,” she added.

This musical performance is important “because it’s a way to unite people,” said student and choir member Kya Beltran. She didn’t lose her home, but many of her neighbors and family members did. The choir allows students to “connect” with each other and their community after “something that’s traumatic, something that has destroyed everything,” she said.

Student and choir member Sofia DiBenedetto said it is difficult to talk about the future,”but I think people are starting to, not get over it, but the pain is going away a little bit.”

The community response to the fire has also been “uplifting,” said student Andy Thompson, because people have welcomed displaced neighbors into their homes.

“A lot of companies donated money, giving people gift cards and discounts at their stores, and it’s really awesome to see everyone come together,” she added.

Public performances like these give the students an opportunity to share their healing music with others, she said.
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