Cadi Koita, a Frenchwoman of Malian origin, arrives at Paris court at the start of...

Cadi Koita, a Frenchwoman of Malian origin, arrives at Paris court at the start of a trial of a woman who is accused of circumcising some 50 young girls, February 2. Koita is a member of the Abolition of Genital Mutilation group which is a party to the case. The trial pits French law against the longtime African custom of the practice of female circumcision, and is the first to be triggered by the complaint of a victim. Fifty-two year-old defendant Hawa Greou, originally of Mali, stands trial as do 27 of the victims' families in the case, and if convicted faces up to 20 years in prison.