Sahiyo U.S. is proud to announce the publication of our new report, Examining the Current State of Critical Intersections: Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting and Social Oppressions. The report explores how different forms of oppression intersect to affect survivors’ access to resources, as well as how the work to end FGM/C is connected to other social justice movements.

The inspiration for the report sprung from a webinar that Sahiyo U.S. hosted in July of 2021 titled, “Critical Intersections: Anti-Racism and Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C).” This discussion highlighted how systemic racism negatively affects the work to end FGM/C. The webinar was highly successful, engaging more than 300 people. Using that momentum, with funding from Wallace Global Fund, Sahiyo U.S. launched a research project to further understand how different forms of oppression affect marginalized communities that practice FGM/C, and how to connect with other social justice movements to strengthen efforts in ending FGM/C.

The report breaks down how the following themes, and how they intersect with the harmful practice of FGM/C:

• Religion: FGM/C occurs within many different religious communities, yet a focus on Islamic communities falsely correlates the practice with this religion, negatively impacting women and survivors of FGM/C with an Islamic background and furtherheightening Islamaphobia.  
• Race: common assumptions about FGM/C are often based on racist stereotypes. Type III FGM/C (infibulation) is often called “African FGM/C,” while less severe types of FGM/C such as Type I (clitoridectomy) and Type II (excision) are associated with Asian countries. This racialized distinction can be used to justify the practice by some FGM/C practicing communities
• Bodily Autonomy: there is great potential for collaboration between anti-FGM/C work and the #MeToo movement. Violations of survivors’ bodies at an age where they do not fully understand how their body functions inhibits their ability to assert bodily autonomy; similarly, survivors of the #MeToo movement lost autonomy over their bodies through experiences of sexual violation.
• Queer Gender and Sexuality: the practice of FGM/C itself forces survivors to comform to cisgender and heteronormative ideas of what a woman is. LGBTQ+ survivors are underrepresented in statistics and the FGM/C activist community, and face an intersection of barriers that causes erasure from the FGM/C sphere.
• Feminism: there are many complexities at the intersection of FGM/C and feminism.  Both the resister and accommodator of FGM/C may argue that their actions are aligned with Feminist philosophy based on their reasoning.
• Law and Policy: In the U.S.,  state laws on FGM/C have been co-opted to ban gender-affirming healthcare for minors. Globally speaking, law and policy has led to the criminalization of FGM/C, creating opportunities for ending of the practice, or giving practitioners reason to continue it in secrecy.
• Climate Change: marginalized groups are more adversely affected by the climate crisis because they do not have economic resources to protect themselves. This puts financial strain on these communities, and makes women and girls more susceptible to oppression and violence, including FGM/C.

It is our hope that this report will support advocates working in FGM/C to better understand how these intersecting oppressions affect the work to end FGM/C and survivors, and connect fellow activists and social change makers to unite in ending universally oppressive systems.

Read the full report here. 
Learn more about the Critical Intersections Research Project.

By Rachel Wine

On September 30th, I had the honor of joining survivors, activists, and allies from around the world to participate in the 9th Annual Global Woman Awards the 10th Annual Walk to End FGM. I was  grateful for the opportunity to meet with my peers in the anti-FGM/C field in-person, and share in the collective energy that is fueling the work to end this harmful practice.

The ceremony kicked off with a musical performance, a keynote speaker, and opening remarks by the Global Woman P.E.A.C.E Foundation’s founder, Angela Peabody. The award ceremony began  with the category of legal and policy work in the anti-FGM/C field; this year’s awardee was our very own Mariya Taher! Though Mariya was unable to attend the event in-person, I was excited to celebrate the recognition of her hard work and share some remarks on her behalf.

I was eager to tell the crowd about Sahiyo’s work as Coalition members in Massachusetts, Washington, and Connecticut, and the successes of passing legislation in the former two states. I explained that passing legislation is only half the battle, and the other half is holding legislators accountable for upholding the law. I also emphasized the importance of holistic approaches to ending FGM/C, such as educational initiatives and programs for survivors.

After accepting the  award on Mariya’s behalf, I was delighted to hear about the accomplishments of the other awardees, including an educator, doctors, survivors, students, and more. I felt hopeful for the future of this work seeing many young activists in the crowd.

When the award ceremony ended, the group gathered to walk from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial and back, united in chanting “No More FGM!” Many patrons of the National Mall stopped us to ask  what FGM stood for; we shared pamphlets and information to educate them, and hopefully fueled their curiosity to learn more. As we sat on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial chanting, clapping, stomping, and cheering, I was reminded of  the power of being a part of something bigger than myself. This event was something I won’t soon forget, and I’ll look forward to many future celebrations of our work to end FGM/C.

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.

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.

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.

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.

On September 5th, Gulabi Stories hosted a discussion-based event with support from Sahiyo called Holding Conversation on Survivorship & Healing. This virtual gathering brought together individuals from diverse backgrounds to screen and hold space to discuss a few of the digital stories from Sahiyo, StoryCenter, and Asian Women’s Shelter’s Voices to End FGM/C project. 

In this intimate setting, the Voices stories sparked reflection and dialogue around deep-seated issues related to female genital cutting (FGC). Throughout the screening, we explored themes of reconciliation, acceptance, the quest for closure and understanding, the profound impact of FGC on personal relationships, and the transformative journey of self-definition while challenging societal norms.

If you are interested in hosting your own Voices screening session, please reach out to Aries Nuño, Sahiyo’s Training and Technical Assistance Coordinator, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..