The Morning: The campaign against cutting

Plus, Donald Trump, the Supreme Court and competitive socializing.

View in browser|nytimes.com March 19, 2024 SUPPORTED BY UPWAY Good morning. Today, I'm turning the newsletter over to my colleague Ruth Maclean, our West Africa bureau chief, to explain why female genital mutilation is still widespread despite international efforts to end it. — David Leonhardt By Ruth Maclean West Africa Bureau Chief, International We're also covering Donald Trump, the Supreme Court and competitive socializing. A rally in Gambia in support of repealing a ban on female genital cutting. Malick Njie/Reuters A stubborn tradition Yesterday, lawmakers in Gambia voted to advance legislation that would legalize female genital cutting. Local analysts believe it is likely to pass. Women have achieved so much social progress worldwide. Yet genital cutting is still on the rise. Today, 230 million women and girls around the world have been cut, a 15 percent rise from 2016. In Africa and the Middle East, several countries still permit the practice, and in many others, laws are erratically enforced. In today's newsletter, I'll explain why cutting — which for most communities means removing the clitoris and the labia minora, or almost sealing up the vagina — has been so hard to stamp out. Fighting a ritual Most of the people who've been cut are from Africa. The practice is almost universal in Somalia and in Guinea, and more than 80 percent of girls undergo the procedure in Egypt, Sudan, Djibouti, Mali and Sierra Leone. But it also happens in some communities in Iraq, Yemen, Indonesia and Malaysia. In Africa, the population is growing faster than efforts to stop genital mutilation, which explains why the number of girls who are cut is rising. Most anti-cutting campaigners locate the roots of the custom in ideas about virginity and control over women's sexuality. Archaeologists in Egypt have discovered mummies from the fifth century B.C. with mutilated genitals. An archaeologist who studies sites in Somaliland says cutting began as a form of divine sacrifice. Other scholars argue that it is spread across such a vast array of cultures that it was adopted independently by different groups. Protesters outside the National Assembly in Banjul, Gambia. Malick Njie/Reuters Cutting was first recognized as a human rights violation in 1993, in a United Nations resolution. In 1995, governments met in Beijing and pledged to work toward eliminating female genital mutilation. Organizations like the United Nations children's agency, UNICEF, led the charge in the 2000s, framing it as a human rights issue. But getting communities to abandon longstanding cultural traditions proved difficult. Laws often went unenforced. Even when they are in place, parents may have their daughters cut because they consider social ostracism to be harsher than legal penalties. Gambia forbade genital cutting in 2015. The government didn't try in earnest to enforce the ban until last year. Then local religious leaders revolted. They started a movement to overturn the measure. Campaigners have had more success listening to communities and talking to them about the downsides of cutting — including severe pain, infections, complications in childbirth and of course the refusal to let women and girls determine what happens to their bodies. My colleague Stephanie Nolen recently wrote about Burkina Faso. There, anti-cutting advocates worked with religious leaders, especially young ones, to change people's minds. As a result, the share of girls between ages 15 and 19 who were cut has fallen by about half in the past three decades, to 39 percent. Grass-roots persuasion Pro-cutting voices have often portrayed bans as a Western imposition. Criticism of the West and of neocolonialism is on the rise across Africa, particularly among digitally connected young people, so this message could catch on. Africa's population is projected to nearly double over the next 25 years. And the population is growing quickly in countries where cutting is the most entrenched, meaning many more girls could be cut in the coming decades. One Gambian anti-cutting advocate I spoke to, Fatou Baldeh, thought cutting could be ended in a generation. After all, a woman who has not been cut is unlikely to have her daughter cut. But campaigners will have to work quicker and smarter to win over the people who believe it is a sacrosanct cultural ritual. In some places, more women than men say the practice should persist. Reaching them will require outreach and persuasion. Experts say there has not been enough in Gambia. Baldeh said the bill to overturn the ban — and the silence from people she thought would speak against it — made her realize that cutting had deeper roots than she'd understood. Gambian lawmakers were afraid to touch it. They voted 42-4 to advance the bill that would eventually repeal the measure. Related: Young women in Sierra Leone are defying their mothers and grandmothers by refusing to undergo genital cutting. Continue reading the main story A MESSAGE FROM UPWAY Spring Sale: up to $1000 off on your next e-bike Discover Upway, the leading e-bike provider, offering top brands like Specialized, Gazelle, and Aventon at unbeatable prices—up to 60% off retail. Don't miss their Spring Sale, with savings of up to $1000 extra! Enjoy delivery to your doorstep within a week, backed by a 1-year warranty. Use code SPRING2024 for an additional $100 off your next e-bike purchase. Shop e-bikes THE LATEST NEWS 2024 Election Donald Trump Maansi Srivastava/The New York Times Donald Trump has so far failed to secure a $454 million bond to cover the penalty in his New York civil fraud case. The deadline is next week. Several states are holding primaries today. The presidential candidates have been decided, but voting will reveal support for Trump allies in congressional races. Read more from Politico. A leading climate group pledged to donate $120 million to support Biden and his allies. That brings Biden's total contributions from outside groups to $1 billion. The Trump campaign may invite Paul Manafort, a former adviser who was convicted of fraud before Trump pardoned him, to help with the Republican National Convention. Members of the Kennedy family posed for a photo with President Biden at the White House. They're backing him even as their relative, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., runs as an independent. Democrats have meddled in Republican primaries for years. In this election cycle, the strategy could undercut Biden's messaging about threats to democracy. Supreme Court The justices sounded skeptical of Republican-led efforts to limit Biden officials' contact with social media companies. The officials had urged platforms to take down posts they said contained misinformation about Covid and the 2020 election. In a separate case, the court seems likely to rule that a New York State official violated the First Amendment when she encouraged companies to stop doing business with the N.R.A. The court denied a bid by Peter Navarro, a Trump adviser convicted of defying a congressional subpoena, to stay out of prison. His sentence is set to begin today. More on Politics Biden directed federal agencies to research menopause, arthritis and other health conditions that disproportionately affect women. Biden's climate law has created a growing marketplace for companies to buy and sell clean-energy tax credits, according to Treasury data. A former colleague of Mayor Eric Adams accused him of sexually assaulting her decades ago in a lawsuit. Adams denied the allegation. A conservative social media influencer was arrested in connection with the Jan. 6 attack. Officials said she livestreamed the riot. Israel-Hamas War On a call with Benjamin Netanyahu, Biden expressed concern about a potential Israeli invasion of Rafah, a southern Gaza city where Palestinian civilians have fled. Netanyahu agreed to send Israeli officials to Washington to discuss alternatives. A global group of food security experts said that as many as 1.1 million people in Gaza would most likely experience "catastrophic" shortages of food. Israeli forces killed one of Hamas's highest-ranking military leaders in an airstrike in central Gaza, according to a U.S. official. Israeli negotiators arrived in Qatar for a new round of talks aimed at releasing hostages held in Gaza by Hamas and its allies in exchange for a cease-fire. Trump accused American Jews who vote for Democrats of hating their religion and "everything about Israel." More International News In Balkh Province, northern Afghanistan. Lynsey Addario for The New York Times "I am waiting for God": A yearslong drought in Afghanistan has displaced entire villages and left millions of children malnourished. Russia uses fake journalists to tell elaborate fabrications online to try to discredit Volodymyr Zelensky and undercut aid to Ukraine. Japan raised interest rates for the first time in 17 years. Its economy has struggled to grow, but the rates are a sign that could change. Serbia's president rejected claims that he steered a real estate project in Belgrade to Jared Kushner in an attempt to influence Trump. Other Big Stories An asbestos mine. Olga Kravets for The New York Times The E.P.A. banned a type of asbestos linked to lung cancer, joining more than 50 countries that have done so. Phasing the substance out will take years. New studies found no evidence of brain injury in Americans who suffered from so-called Havana syndrome, mysterious ailments that affected U.S. diplomats and spies abroad. Cherry blossoms in Washington, D.C., have bloomed early because of a warm winter. Opinions Wall Street is monetizing old hit songs. That gives the music industry less incentive to be creative, Marc Hogan writes. Bill Gates and bejeweled elephants: A lavish pre-wedding ceremony shows how oligarchs have achieved a new level of wealth in Narendra Modi's India, Sonia Faleiro argues. As societies get richer, families get smaller. Jennifer D. Sciubba, a demographer, joins Ezra Klein to discuss why birthrates are plummeting worldwide. Here are columns by Paul Krugman on Americans' negative feelings on the economy and Michelle Goldberg on how we can help children get offline. For readers of The Morning, enjoy exceptional savings for a limited time. Take advantage of the complete Times experience with our sale. Save on your first year of unlimited access to news, Games, Cooking and more. Subscribe now. MORNING READS "Wall Street Wednesdays" at the 411 in London.  Peter Flude for The New York Times "Competitive socializing": In London, pubs have created more elaborate drinking games to attract customers. Wildlife: A new study complicates the idea that animals thrived while people were stuck at home during the pandemic. Ask Vanessa: "My pants no longer fit. Should I get rid of them or keep them in case?" Lives Lived: Andrew Crispo was a Manhattan art gallerist hit by a series of tabloid-worthy scandals, including tax evasion, extortion and implication in the murder of an art student. Crispo died at 78. SPORTS M.L.B.: The reigning Cy Young Award winner, Blake Snell, agreed to a two-year, $62 million deal with the San Francisco Giants last night, ending a prolonged free agency. N.B.A.: Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves electrified the league with a thunderous dunk that also left his finger dislocated. Broadcasting: LeBron James will team up with the former player turned media star JJ Redick for a new podcast. College basketball: The Big East conference said it was "very disappointed" in the N.C.A.A. selection committee for not picking three of its teams. Continue reading the main story A MESSAGE FROM UPWAY Spring Sale: up to $1000 off on your next e-bike Discover Upway, the leading e-bike provider, offering top brands like Specialized, Gazelle, and Aventon at unbeatable prices—up to 60% off retail. Don't miss their Spring Sale, with savings of up to $1000 extra! Enjoy delivery to your doorstep within a week, backed by a 1-year warranty. Use code SPRING2024 for an additional $100 off your next e-bike purchase. Shop e-bikes ARTS AND IDEAS Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey in "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." David Lee/Focus Features Remembering forgetting: In 2004, Charlie Kaufman's "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" stunned audiences. Twenty years later, the movie — about a woman named Clementine (Kate Winslet) who erases the memory of her boyfriend Joel (Jim Carrey) — "has lingered in the consciousness long after the love story's expiration date," Madeleine Connors writes. Clementine is evoked on TikTok and Tumblr and is seen as the consummate Manic Pixie Dream Girl, while Joel often serves as an avatar for our lonely times. Read Madeline's retrospective. More on culture Accra, Ghana, in 1971. James Barnor, via Galerie Clémentine de la Féronnière Britain exported modernist architecture to West Africa and India. Local architects adapted it for a different climate and a new kind of politics. Oprah Winfrey hosted a prime-time special on the rise of weight loss drugs. The goal, she said, was to "start releasing the stigma" around weight and weight loss. "Trump has said I'm not talented so many times, Eric is starting to get jealous," Jimmy Kimmel said after the former president bashed him (again) on Fox News. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS … Joseph De Leo for The New York Times Think of these blondies as a starter birthday cake to make for friends. Make popcorn on the stove. Use a mini food processor. GAMES Here is today's Spelling Bee. Yesterday's pangram was conduction, conduit and induction. And here are today's Mini Crossword, Wordle, Sudoku and Connections. Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow. Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Editor: David Leonhardt Deputy Editor: Adam B. 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