Social workers are an important stakeholder group to provide training for when it comes to supporting survivors of female genital cutting (FGC), and building the cultural competency of social workers is vital. Within the U.S., however, many social workers, advocates, and social service providers are not adequately equipped to address FGC in their practice. On Nov 8, in collaboration with Sahiyo and the US Network to End FGM/C Network, Bridgewell organized a training that provided continuing education units (CEUs) to social workers; the training gave an introductory foundation for understanding what FGC is, including its prevalence in the U.S. and globally, as well as and the role of social workers in addressing and responding to this issue. The workshop shared key competencies and best practices for working with survivors of FGC and supported increasing attendees’ confidence in talking about and addressing FGC in their practice. 

Title: FGM/C: It's Time to Talk About It
Date: November 8, 2023 
Time: 9:30-1:30 PM EST 

Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) is recognized in the US and internationally as a human rights violation and a form of gender-based violence. However, many social workers, advocates, and social service providers are not adequately equipped to address FGM/C in their practice. This workshop will provide an introductory foundation for understanding what FGM/C is, including its prevalence in the U.S. and globally, and the role of social workers in addressing and responding to this issue. In addition, the workshop will share key competencies and best practices for working with survivors of FGM/C. This workshop intends to increase attendees’ confidence in talking about and addressing FGM/C in their practice and provide relevant resources.

Objectives:

• Participants will learn about the role of social workers in addressing FGM/C.
• Participants will learn about the common service needs for people who have been impacted by FGM/C.
• Participants will learn how to apply core social work competencies and approaches to working with people impacted by FGM/C in culturally responsive ways.
• Participants will gain an introductory understanding of what female genital cutting/mutilation is; including the types of FGM/C, justifications for the practices, physical and psychological impacts, and its prevalence in the US and globally.

Register for the event here. For more information, please visit the event page on Bridgewell's website.

On November 6th, Sahiyo, as part of the Connecticut Coalition to End FGM/C, supported a legislative briefing on the topic of female genital cutting (FGC) hosted by the Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, Equity and Opportunity (CWCSEO) and Connecticut Representative Jillian Gilchrest. Special guests included Mariya Taher, Co-Founder and U.S. Executive Director of Sahiyo, as well as experts from the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).

Connecticut remains one of only 9 states in the U.S. yet to address this human rights violation in any manner; this briefing provided insights into the legislative landscape surrounding FGC in the U.S., as well as progress made, challenges faced, and how to move forward in addressing FGC. NCSL also summarized the laws addressing FGC in the 41 states. The Connecticut Coalition to End FGM/C will continue to advocate for a bill to be introduced into this next legislative cycle, starting in January 2024, in hopes that CT legislation will recognize the need to promote a safer, healthier future for all in the state. 

Learn more about Sahiyo’s policy work here.

Title: From Idea to Fruition: Building an Organization from the Ground-up and the Learning Journey
Date: Mon, Nov 13th, 2023
Time: 2:30-4 pm ET / 11:30-1 pm PT

Mariya Taher is one of the five co-founders of Sahiyo. Sometimes she feels as if she accidentally started an organization, though starting an organization is by no means an easy feat (even when someone is passionate about a topic). For the past nine months, Mariya has been taking part in the VALOR LEAP program, a mentorship program for women of color leaders working in gender-based violence. In connection with her fellowship, she will be hosting a webinar she hopes will support other future nonprofit founders. Founders from across the VALOR LEAP Cohorts will come together for a discussion on what led them to found their organizations and the lessons (both challenges and successes) that they have encountered along the way. Mariya Taher will moderate, with Strong Oak Lefebvre, April Barbosa, Tonije Reese, and Sanjana Khan as speakers. Learn more about speakers here.

Objectives of Webinar:

• To hear the stories of founders of various organizations and what motivated them
• To connect founders in the gender-based violence space with one another
• To develop lessons learned and key takeaways in terms of what to know and or be aware of when considering founding an organization

Register for the webinar here.

Female genital cutting (FGC) is an often overlooked facet of gender-based violence (GBV) in the United States. On November 2nd, Sahiyo joined forces with South Asian SOAR to host a training session tailored for service providers in the GBV sector.

Facilitators delved into the complexities of FGC, providing attendees with insights into FGC’s various forms and the emotional and physical impacts of this harmful practice. Compelling stories from survivors, shared through Sahiyo's Voices to End FGM/C project, shed light on the intersectional identities of survivors and their emotional journeys, as well as their inspiring advocacy efforts. The training also explored the cultural contexts of FGC, examining its presence globally, and more specifically in the U.S., receiving an overview of current U.S. laws related to FGC.

A reflection discussion prompted conversations about effective ways to engage with the general public and survivors on the issue of FGC. With more than 15 SOAR coalition members in attendance, this knowledge equips service providers to offer comprehensive support, bridging the understanding gap surrounding the complexities of FGC. As one participant stated: 

This session opened the other side of GBV, which is often absent from our day-to-day narratives. Thank you💜.

If your organization is interested in inviting Sahiyo to conduct a training session, please contact Sahiyo’s Training and Technical Assistance Coordinator Aries Nuño for more information. 

Meet L'Oréal Paris Women of Worth Honoree Mariya Taher, Sahiyo U.S. Each year, L'Oréal Paris launches a nationwide search for ten extraordinary non-profit leaders to be named Women of Worth honorees. Each honoree receives $25,000 to support their charitable work, mentorship from the L'Oréal Paris network and a national platform to tell their stories.

Read more about Mariya here.

Learn more about the 2023 Women of Worth by visiting womenofworth.com.

Sahiyo U.S. would like to thank our friends at Resist for a core support grant award of $4,000 per year for three years. Resist supports organizations that organize within communities for structural, social, and economic change. They also provide alternative systems to the ones we’re currently fighting, and help to build resilience in communities.

These funds will help Sahiyo to expand our Community Outreach and Education program, which trains health care providers, government officials, law enforcement, social services, and other community based organizations on ways to support female genital cutting (FGC) survivors; plan for our next annual Activists Retreat, where we train advocates to continue their work in raising awareness against FGC; provide organizing power to FGC survivors in states that don’t yet have policy against FGC; and conduct valuable research investigating the needs of FGC survivors and the intersections of FGC and other oppressions, such as discrimination based on race, gender, religion, sexuality, and diverse migrant experiences.

By Megan Seaver

An essential part of the work to end female genital cutting (FGC) is to engage in community-based activism, which means to serve a specific group of people with a specific set of needs and values. Sahiyo’s Editorial Assistant Urvashi Sharma interviewed Saza Faradilla, a community-based activist in Singapore, to discuss how she engages in community-based activism when it comes to  the campaign to end FGC. 

Saza began the conversation with an explanation for her centralized, community-based approach to ending FGC in Singapore: 

“We started End FGC Singapore in November 2020, primarily because we believed that a cohesive, more ordered force needed to be established to bring an end to this practice.” From there, the first step was to “raise awareness among the Muslim community,” then “to lobby officials who occupy high positions of power,” and finally “to facilitate solidarity among Singaporeans in order to create an understanding that this…is a Singapore health problem.”

End FGC Singapore uses educational methods to challenge stereotypes surrounding FGC, including discussing how FGC should not be interpreted as a religious mandate for Muslim women. As part of their programs last year, End FGC Singapore decided that during the holy month of Ramadan, they would bring awareness to FGC through hosting a public awareness campaign. 

“This isn’t the first time we’re doing this – last year we distributed our booklets outside the mosque, but decided to take it to the next level this year in order to reach out to the people we’re trying to influence.”

The bazaar is set up during Ramdan which consists of food, vendors, and activities for families. Saza reflected on choosing the Bazaar, explaining that it was the event to pass out educational booklets on FGC because “the Bazaar is younger, attracts a larger crowd, and is more hip. It’s important for effective activism to be able to segment our audience and then provide targeted marketing. Those are the people whose minds we are trying to broaden and influence.” 

End FGC Singapore sought to speak with the younger generation of Muslims in Singapore because they felt that a younger audience would be more receptive and open minded to criticizing the practice of FGC; focusing on  younger Singaporeans also gives End FGC Singapore the opportunity to create generational change. These young people will one day hold positions of power in their communities, and because they have been exposed to End FGC Singapore’s activism, there is a greater chance they may put forward laws and ideas that help end FGC.

Saza also explored different people reactions when being handed the booklet: 

“Common questions that we receive are along the lines of, is this practice required in Islam, is this practice safe if it’s done by a doctor, is sunat perempuan the same as FGM, etc. So we addressed the issue from a health perspective, a religious perspective, and then a cultural perspective.”

End FGC Singapore have set themselves up to provide future activist programs because they have established a common connection within their community. End FGC Singapore also made sure that the information in the booklet was educational, while still appealing to inclusion of the Muslim community. 

But in distributing the booklet at the Bazaar, they did run into some challenges. “Most people are quite shocked at first because they don’t expect to talk about FGC in a Bazaar.” 

Saza’s work has also gained media attention, as the booklet program was featured in an article published by Mediacorp Today. However, not all the feedback has been positive: 

“The Ramadan Bazaar organizers reached out to us after the article came out and messaged me saying that I’m not supposed to do this because I didn’t get approval (in Singapore you need to get approval for everything). However, it is legal to give out any non-political booklets in all public spaces. So we had a meeting with them arguing that the Ramadan Bazaar is a public space.” 

Despite the pushback, End FGC Singapore's use of a public space to deliver the booklets is a testament of their commitment to community-based activism. Saza and her team know their community and have tailored their community engagement work towards the youth, who they hope will understand the harms of FGC and work towards prevention of it for future generations. This community-centered approach creates space for dialogue between communities and activist organizations, which is vital to ending the practice of FGC.