99% of women and girls in Somalia have been mutilated in the following way: the clitoris is cut off, along with the inner labia. Then the inner flesh of the outer labia is removed before both sides are sewn tightly together, leaving a hole no bigger than a matchstick for urine and menses to trickle through. All of this is done in childhood, and without any form of anesthesia whatsoever. Sometimes the little girl is given a scrap of leather or a stick to bite down on. The cutters use old razor blades, or sometimes a piece of broken glass. This is only the beginning of a girl’s pain. Most wedding nights in Somalia are aided by “the little knife” — that is, the new husband slices his bride open so that he can penetrate her now cut and bleeding scar tissue. Some men, however, simply batter their way through, tearing that tiny hole open by sheer force. When a woman goes into labor, she’s cut open more widely, then sewn back up afterwards so that when sex resumes she will have to be cut open yet again. This practice leads to countless deaths from infection and a drastic increase in maternal mortality, but Somali men still refuse to marry uncut women, forcing mothers to have their daughters cut or face social stigma. Uncut girls are seen as dirty; the term for clitoris is a playground taunt in Somalia, and girls who are not cut are usually ostracized by their peers. The Somali government recently debated the legality of this appalling custom, and the parliament largely split along gender lines. Female MPs roundly condemned FGM, while male MPs insisted that having a clitoris made a woman more difficult to penetrate, and quoted the hadith in which Muhammad condoned the practice. These are educated men who nevertheless claim that cutting a girl is necessary in order to control her sexuality, and that an uncut woman will be promiscuous and untrustworthy. In spite of the Somali government’s continued support for FGM, foreign aid continues to flow into Somalia unobstructed. The West should refuse to give the Somali government so much as a single dollar until they outlaw FGM and take positive steps to combat the problem. One tactic that has been highly successful involves showing Somali men a video of a girl being mutilated. Because FGM is seen as women’s business, most men have no idea what it entails. Men who watch this video are horrified, and the most common reaction has been “Not my daughter!” This proves that FGM is not hopelessly entrenched in Somali culture. Western pressure and resources could make an enormous difference in the lives of Somali women and girls, and put a stop to this barbaric practice.

This is Gregory Green. In 1991, he stabbed his pregnant wife Tonya to death during an argument and then called 911 to report his crime. He was allowed to plead no contest to second degree murder and sentenced to 15-25 years in prison. While incarcerated, Gregory was a model prisoner, and with the support of pastor Fred Harris, he was paroled in 2008 after serving just 16 years. After his release, Gregory married Fred Harris’ daughter, Faith, who had two children from a previous marriage. Faith and Gregory had two daughters together, but Gregory’s anger and aggression caused Faith to file for divorce in September of 2016. He sought revenge right away. Before Faith could move out, Gregory tampered with his own car so that the exhaust was re-routed back into the car itself. Late one night, he took his two sleeping daughters, Koi (5) and Kaleigh (4) and put them in the car to suffocate before returning their bodies to their beds. Gregory then attacked his wife, duct taping her to a chair in the basement before cutting her on both sides of her face from ears to chin and shooting her in the foot — but he wasn’t done. Marching his two teenage stepchildren downstairs at gunpoint, he shot them both in the head in front of their screaming mother before bringing the bodies of Koi and Kaleigh downstairs for her to see. Gregory then went calmly upstairs and — once again — called 911 to report what he’d done. In spite of clear, indisputable evidence of premeditation, Gregory was allowed to plead guilty to four counts of second degree murder, torture, assault with intent to do great bodily harm and felony firearms violations. He was sentenced to 45-100 years in prison; although this was the second family he annihilated, he will be eligible for parole in just 47 years. This is the second man I’ve profiled who murdered his family, got locked up, got out, had a second family, and then murdered them too. If even one woman had been allowed to do such a thing, you can bet your life that we’d never hear the end of it. Ever hear of Gregory Green before today?