Yesterday, the U.N. resident and humanitarian coordinator in Iraq warned reporters that ISIS — the Sunni militant group taking over Iraq and Syria — had ordered 4 million women and girls in Mosul to undergo genital mutilation. Today, analysts say the written fatwa Jacqueline Badcock based her warning on is fake.

According to a report from the U.N., ISIS — the Sunni militant group taking control of Iraq and Syria — has ordered women and girls in Mosul to undergo genital mutilation. This fatwa potentially affects 4 million women and girls.

When I was little there was no such thing as terrorism and there was no such thing as Female Genital Mutilation. I lived an oblivious, suburban life up until 1999, when I moved to Minneapolis, where I still reside today. I'll never forget the day when Zuhar, my cousin and next-door neighbor, asked me if I was circumcised.