Cleary Gottlieb Attorneys Seek Asylum for Survivor of Female Genital Mutilation

At this year’s Above & Beyond Pro Bono Achievement Awards and Benefit, Sanctuary for Families is honoring a team of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton attorneys for their pro bono work on behalf of Sanctuary client “Ms. G.”

At this year’s Above & Beyond Pro Bono Achievement Awards and Benefit, Sanctuary for Families is honoring a team of Cleary Gottlieb attorneys for their pro bono work on behalf of Sanctuary client “Ms. G,” a survivor of female genital mutilation, sexual violence, and torture. The Cleary Gottlieb team of associates S. Ellie Norton, Clayton Simmons, Jessica Thompson, and Marion de Meslon have championed Ms. G’s asylum claim throughout three years of immigration proceedings to prevent Ms. G from being deported to her persecutors in Burkina Faso.

Finding Sanctuary

Ms. G was living in a crisis domestic violence shelter when she first met Ellie, Clay, Jessica, and Marion. She suffered from repeated infections and hospitalizations caused by the female genital mutilation (FGM) she was forced to undergo as a young child. She had also been kidnapped, tortured, and raped by political groups in her home country of Burkina Faso.

After fleeing to the United States, Ms. G suffered further physical, sexual, and emotional abuse by her husband. Undocumented and unable speak or understand English, Ms. G. understandably felt scared and alone. Without friends or family members to help her, she turned to her doctors who referred her to Sanctuary for Families. Sanctuary helped Ms. G find shelter and connected her to her pro bono team at Cleary Gottlieb for legal representation.

Certain that Ms. G’s life would be in danger if she were forced to return to Burkina Faso, the Cleary Gottlieb pro bono team quickly filed an affirmative application for asylum on Ms. G’s behalf.

The team advocated that Ms. G must be granted asylum in the United States because she had endured severe persecution and horrific human rights violations in the past and would face further persecution if returned to Burkina Faso, due to political violence and the high rates of FGM and gender violence against women in Ms. G’s ethnic group in Burkina Faso.

Claiming asylum

Ms. G presented a strong claim to asylum at her asylum office interview in 2014, but to the pro bono team’s surprise, the asylum officer rejected her application merely because it lacked a copy of her marriage certificate, which was in the possession of her abusive husband. Ellie explained:

“The only copy of Ms. G’s marriage certificate available in the United States was in the hands of her abusive husband, who refused to turn it over to us.”

Although the pro bono team attempted to procure another copy of Ms. G’s marriage certificate directly from Burkina Faso, it unfortunately did not arrive in time for the interview and the asylum officer was unwilling to wait.  As a result, Ms. G was directly placed into deportation proceedings.

Disappointed but undeterred, the Cleary Gottlieb associates began preparing Ms. G to present her asylum claim before an immigration judge. According to Clay:

“We tried to be sensitive to Ms. G’s emotions and give her as much support as possible because we knew that having to relive the traumatic experiences of her past by telling her story yet again would be very challenging for her.” 

Ms. G and the pro bono team were confident and ready to argue the merits of her case at her first scheduled immigration court hearing, but unfortunately the hearing was adjourned.

Moving forward

The merits hearing finally took place in 2016, nearly two years after her asylum office interview. At Ms. G’s merits hearing, opposing counsel made the surprising decision to defer to the judge for a decision without requiring Ms. G to testify.

The judge remarked that the team’s presentation of Ms. G’s asylum application was so strong he would grant it on the existing record alone, pending routine security clearances. The team is hopeful that Ms. G will finally be granted asylum at her next hearing later this year.

Sayoni Maitra, the Immigration Intervention Project Staff Attorney at Sanctuary for Families who worked with the Cleary Gottlieb pro bono team, shared that Ellie, Clay, Jessica, and Marion are being recognized because of the “great compassion, encouragement, and emotional support” that they provided to Ms. G “[t]hrough a long and arduous immigration process.” Sayoni added that “the team’s outstanding preparation of Ms. G’s asylum application was so impressive that even opposing counsel agreed to forego testimony, sparing Ms. G the trauma of retelling her painful past in court.”

When asked to reflect on the most meaningful part of their experience as Ms. G’s pro bono attorneys, the Cleary Gottlieb team marveled at Ms. G’s tremendous strength and growth as an individual. “Ms. G has remained resilient, calm, and composed throughout an extraordinarily difficult process,” said Jessica.

“She graduated from college in Burkina Faso and has since been taking additional classes in the United States to learn English and develop a career here. With counseling from Sanctuary for Families, Ms. G has gotten back on her feet. Seeing her remarkable progress over the years has been so rewarding.”

When asked to reflect on her experience working with the Cleary Gottlieb pro bono team, Ms. G said “I want to thank Clayton, Ellie, Jessica, and Marion for the work they did for my case. They were helpful in many ways in my life in the United States and I will always be grateful to them.”

Join us at our Above & Beyond celebration on October 19, 2016 at the Highline Ballroom as we honor Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton’s outstanding pro bono work.  Learn more about the event here.  If you can’t join us, but would like to support Sanctuary for Family’s work, please consider making an Above & Beyond donation here.

Erin Meyer is the Pro Bono Manager at Proskauer Rose LLP and was formerly a senior associate at Hogan Lovells US LLP.  She is also a member of Sanctuary’s Pro Bono Council and Co-Chair of this year’s Above & Beyond event.

The African Girls’ Leadership Group is cultivating a new generation of advocates

Together, these girls are tackling FGM and gender inequality in their communities.

“I’m willing to go out and speak. Usually I’m nervous when I speak, but you have all inspired me,” says Fatoumata, standing proudly before a room packed with peers, advocates and survivors.

“I know we as a group can make change when we go at it together.”

Fatoumata is a graduate of Sanctuary’s inaugural African Girls’ Leadership Group, a group that engages young African girls in advocating to end Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in their communities.

Eight young women and teenage girls graduated during a ceremony last week, where Fatoumata and others spoke. All of the graduates have parents who immigrated from Africa, or were themselves born in Africa, with four different West African countries represented among the group.

Growing advocates from the community

The African Girls’ Leadership Group was founded by Sanctuary counselor Mariama Diallo, who was born in Guinea, West Africa. In Guinea, Mariama says, more than 93% of women undergo FGM.

In 2004, Mariama came to the United States, and began working at Sanctuary, where she did outreach among US-born girls in African communities in New York. “I was shocked to realize that FGM was happening here,” says Mariama.

Mariama has long been an advocate to end FGM in the US. But in recent years, as the children of her clients at Sanctuary grew up and learned about their mothers’ experiences, Mariama started to wonder how she could engage these bright young women in her advocacy.

After all, says Mariama, “the people who are most closely connected to an issue are the best to speak out against the issue – and this issue disproportionately impacts young African girls.”

Learning to make people listen

Over the course of three months, the girls gathered weekly to discuss their shared experiences of growing up in the US, but remaining closely tied to the traditions and culture of their or their parents’ home countries.

Everything was on the table, from the anxiety of awaiting college acceptance to the challenge of speaking to a respected and beloved male family member about why FGM is wrong.

Each week, guest speakers trained the girls in a new area of advocacy, including public speaking, using media, and legal aspects. “My favorite day was when we spoke with the Senior Trial Attorney from the Justice Department,” says Adama, age 16.

“I learned how to approach people about FGM effectively,” she adds. “You can’t immediately confront everyone with the brutal realities of FGM – you have to take different approaches to be the most effective and get people to listen.”

Carrying the message to the community

Aisha is 18, and about to graduate high school.

Despite her busy schedule, she found time to join the African Girls’ Leadership Group and was inspired to take action.

“When I was young, my mother wanted to ensure my sister and me never had to undergo FGM. She came to Sanctuary for help,” recounts Aisha.

“Today, even though most if the kids in my high school are from West Africa, I don’t think they are very educated about the issue of FGM. I’m planning to create a documentary that shares the stories of FGM survivors. FGM is such a traumatizing event, when someone speaks about it you can see it in their eyes. Words alone aren’t enough – I think video is a much more effective way to really show people what FGM is.”

Aisha is looking forward to attending Bryn Mawr next year, where she’ll study computer science. This summer, she’ll be working and getting ready for school – but she still wants to dedicate time to her advocacy.

“Being part of this group has really helped me to think outside the box about advocacy,” she says. “What keeps me going is knowing that this isn’t just for me, but could make a difference for someone else.”

Setting goals, making change

The African Girls’ Leadership Group doesn’t end with graduation. While some girls will be moving on to college, others are still in high school and are excited to push their agenda forward while growing the group to include other girls.

They’ve also created a list of goals for the future. The advocates hope to have a meeting with the New York City Mayor’s Office this summer, to talk about their idea for a city-wide ad campaign calling attention to FGM.

They want the opportunity to attend the UN Commission on the Status of Women in 2017, and are willing to participate in and speak at related events and panels.

They also want to do more outreach directly within their communities. The advocates think holding a free hair-braiding event at a local salon would be a great opportunity to reach mothers and families.

While braiding their daughters’ hair, the advocates could speak with the mothers about the dangers of FGM – and perhaps prevent yet another girl from undergoing the dangerous procedure.

“I’d like to see the group grow so we can inspire more girls, from all different places, to take part,” says Adama.

Scroll down to view more photos from the graduation!

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5 things you need to know about vacation cutting & FGM in the United States.

Vacation cutting affects more girls than you may realize.

Tell the New York State Assembly to stop vacation cutting in our state. Sign now.

1. The number of girls and women affected by female genital mutilation (FGM) has been massively underestimated.

A new UN study reveals that over 500,000 girls and women in the United States have undergone or are at risk of undergoing FGM, a dangerous and non-medically necessary procedure that intentionally alters or causes injury to the female genital organs. This number is almost three times larger than previous estimates.

2. Girls in New York are especially at risk.

In the New York metropolitan area alone, over 65,000 girls are considered at high risk of undergoing FGM. Other states with high rates of risk include California, Texas, Maryland, Minnesota and Washington.

3. FGM is not a product of a single culture or religion.

FGM takes place in many different cultures, in the United States and around the world. It is NOT a practice tied to or condoned by any major religion, and in fact the practice pre-dates Christianity and Islam. Religious leaders across the world have denounced the practice.

4. FGM is illegal in New York State, but vacation cutting remains legal.

Vacation cutting is the practice of sending girls and young women out of New York, where FGM is illegal, to a country abroad where they can undergo the dangerous procedure. New legislation would make vacation cutting illegal in New York State, but since 2013 the state Assembly has failed to pass this critical bill.

5. You can take action to stop vacation cutting in New York.

Vacation cutting hurts girls and harms our community. We’re rallying supporters to sign a petition calling on the New York State Assembly to pass the vacation cutting ban. We need 1,000 signatures by February 29th to make a big impact. You can sign today.