In 1996, the political asylum case of Fauziya Kassindja made worldwide headlines. As a 17-year-old, she fled her homeland of Togo, Africa, to escape the ritual practice of female genital mutilation. After arriving in the U.S. she was imprisoned by the U.S. Immigration Service for 16 months.

She eventually became the first person granted political refugee status in the United States because of the practice of female circumcision in her homeland.

Now Fauziya and her lawyer Layli Miller Bashir tell their story in a new book published this month called ??Do They Hear You When You Cry?

Guests:

• Fauziya Kassindja, the first person granted political refugee status in the United States because of the practice of female circumcision in her homeland.
• Layli Miller Bashir, Kassindja’s attorney and the co-author of ??Do They Hear You When You Cry? She took on Fauziya Kassindja’s case as a 23-year-old law student.

Related links:

• Tahirih Justice Center

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