By Megan Seaver

On April 17th, Sahiyo U.S and Equality Now had the honor of hosting a virtual event, "Impactful Media Reporting on Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting in the United States: A Conversation." This webinar explored how to report on female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) in a culturally cognizant, gender-sensitive, and ethical way. Attendees were media and communications professionals. Speakers included a panel of media and advocacy experts, such as: 

• Washington State Senator Karen Kaiser, 
• Emma Batha of Thomson Reuters Foundation News, 
• Journalist Milena Mikael Debass, 
• and documentary filmmaker Milena Warns from Without Exception Films.

The moderators were Sahiyo Co-founder and U.S. Executive Director, Mariya Taher, and Equality Now Communications Officer for North America, Mel Bailey.

Through this conversation, attendees were better able to understand the prevalence and complexity of FGM/C within the U.S. and the importance of engaging with survivors in a considerate manner when reporting on FGM/C. Additionally, attendees gained strategies on how to use media platforms to raise awareness and educate the public on FGM/C. They also learned analytical tools for covering related news, such as legal developments and community advocacy efforts effectively.

Here are some highlights  from webinar attendees:

The importance of building relationships with survivors:

“I can't stress enough how important it is to build those contacts with survivors because that is how you get stories. When I meet advocates, or survivors I like to spend quite a lot of time with them, and meet them in person, because even if that interaction does not lead to a story you’re still increasing your knowledge which makes for better reporting and also builds trust so that the survivor or organization better understands what you as the report are seeking from the interaction” - Emma Batha

The impact of a comprehensive approach and the role the media plays in it:

“We are here to talk about media in all its forms and the roles that media can play when it comes to having a multi-sectoral approach to end FGM/C. Multi-sectoral means the collective effort of government agencies [and] local organizations, provides FGM/C education builds awareness, as well as support services for survivors at the federal, state, and local levels, to end FGM/C.” - Mariya Taher

How media can tackle misinformation: 

“It takes a lot of education, and the media is a part of that process because people have a lot of misinformation. Unfortunately, we had to clarify that this practice is not religious practice… so it was somewhat of a difficult communications project and I have to give credit to the Washington coalition for providing first-person testimony to correct, and educate and to elucidate this issue.” - Senator Karen Kaiser

 On Survivor-led initiatives:

“I wanted to write something that highlighted survivor-lead efforts to end the practice in the U.S. Figuring out how to show that work through videos took time, to build relationships, and how to make it visual. I had several conversations with Mariya, always kind of thinking about what types of work I could highlight. By the end, I was able to interview three survivor activists, but also film the Activist Retreat which is put on by Sahiyo in New York, [as well as help a D.C.\survivors support group for African women, and a training for law enforcement on how to look for signs of FGM/C taking place in their community.” - Milena Mikael Debass

Bring the issue of FGM/C to a wider audience: 

“We have a docu-series that focuses on different issues women face around the world and FGM/C is one of those. The one thing I keep coming back to is that we don’t give people enough credit. People want to learn about this, myself included. When we were going to film in different parts of the world, I spoke to my friends about this project and they wanted to know more about it. Then when we included the celebrity component we interviewed Constance Wu, an actress in Crazy Rich Asians who personally chose to discuss this topic because she personally wanted to learn about it.” - Milena Warns

To learn more about this event, watch the recording below:

Learn more about media communication/reporting on FGM/C with the resources below:

• Sahiyo survivor stories - Sahiyo
• Resource Guide for Sensitive and Effective Reporting on FGM/C - Sahiyo
• Global FGM media reporting toolkit - Equality Now
• US FGM media factsheet - Equality Now
• US FGM State Law Map - Equality Now

By Lubaina Plumber

Remember that pivotal moment when a cause became intensely personal? That's what happened to me when I discovered the human rights violation of female genital cutting (FGC) a few years ago. It triggered buried memories of my own experience as an eight-year-old survivor. 

I finally attended the transformative Sahiyo Activists Retreat in 2023, and those three days in Atlanta were sheer magic. 

I was instantly enveloped in a safe haven of kindred spirits where I could openly share my story without judgment. The thoughtfully planned activities included toolkits, group discussions, and personal anecdotes.All of which illuminated the nuances of the global FGC discourse. Hearing from powerful guest speakers was also incredibly inspiring. 

But what moved me the most were the authentic conversations with fellow activists. Trading perspectives, bonding over shared trauma, and feeling that profound sense of sisterhood - it was deeply cathartic and healing. 

The retreat also gave me the courage to initiate tough dialogues back home. I learned to broach the subject of FGC with a patience for ignorance, but still with a fierce determination to educate those who wrongly endorse the practice. I left the retreat with an unshakable support system and a heart full of hope for the future.

Now, I'm extending an impassioned invitation to you: Join us at the next three-day Sahiyo Activists Retreat, taking place virtually this year from July 26-July 28! 

This is your chance to be part of a mighty community united against FGC. To find your tribe, nurture your activist spirit, and amplify your voice through empowering activities. 

Trust me, those few days will forge bonds that last forever and equip you with tools to create tangible change. Let's come together, share our stories, and build a world that’s free and safe. 

The time has come to join the movement. Sign up now by June 1st and let's make this year's retreat even more impactful!

Related:

• Join us for Sahiyo’s 8th annual Activists Retreat
• Passion, Purpose, Party: My take on Sahiyo's Activists Retreat

Sheena Vasani joined Sahiyo as its Editorial Coordinator in January 2024. She is a journalist with over a decade of experience working for major media outlets, startups, and charities. A strong believer in the power of the written word to enact social change and heal, she has gone viral multiple times for her work on South Asian mental health issues. 

When and how did you first get involved with Sahiyo?

I actually stumbled upon Sahiyo years ago while launching a mental health section as an activist writing for a South Asian publication called Brown Girl Magazine. Mariya had contributed a poignant blog about FGC that touched me deeply, so I started following Sahiyo on social media. And then as the years went, a series of events led me to pursue other passions in tech journalism. And then one day, like five billion years later, I saw a job listing for the position. It was perfect timing, because I’d just been thinking how much I wanted to involve myself more with feminist initiatives again, and so of course I immediately jumped on the opportunity. Like, literally! It was a Saturday and I was about to hop into the shower, but instead jumped back in bed and started working on my application (don’t worry, I eventually showered).

What does your work with Sahiyo include?

So many things! My work involves interviewing survivors and allies as well as writing and editing blog posts, but it also includes outreach, brainstorming ideas, and other related tasks. I’m also currently working on formulating a larger, data-driven strategy for the editorial team so we can make even more impact!

How has your involvement with Sahiyo impacted your life? 

It’s only been four months but it has been transformative, honestly. I’ve not experienced FGC/M, but I do know what it’s like to experience trauma and suffer in silence because of South Asian cultural norms rooted in sexism. I can empathize with that sense of shame and stigma as well as that sense of isolation.

Through each meeting I have, every person I virtually meet, and every story I read, I feel like I heal a little more and become a better person. So many of the individuals I've interviewed leave me with a sense of awe and inspire me, as well, including the ones who are just starting their healing journeys. Despite their pain, they’re not just trying to survive – they’re trying to thrive. Each has gone through the depths of hell and yet have risen from the ashes, lighting up and changing the world with that fire. It’s so moving to witness, and there have been times when it’s reignited a similar flame within me when I’ve felt low.

What’s beautiful, too, is that my work with Sahiyo has sparked some really great conversations about gender-based violence in South Asian communities with my Mom, who I am a caregiver for as she has Parkinson’s Disease. Like a lot of South Asians, my parents were brought up in East Africa. My Mom knew girls who had gone through FGC, but it was just one of the many forms of gender-based violence going on in her community during that time (think like, late 40s, early 50s – so end of World War 2 and around when the British just left India, so very, very different times!). So she never got the space to talk about how that impacted her, and she didn’t even know what the official, modern term was for it until I started this job. She knows what it is now, though, and it’s inspired a little sense of activism in her too. My Mom has endured a lot as a quiet Indian housewife from more traditional times that’s left a lot of scars, so it’s beautiful watching her get angry as hell about FGC, challenge outdated beliefs, and ultimately heal herself – and the South Asian culture, to an extent – as we have these discussions.

In April, Sahiyo’s research team gave two presentations exploring data from our advocate and survivor-led Critical Intersections Research Project, the latest report from this project having been released in February 2024.

On April 23rd, Sahiyo presented Critical Intersections of FGM/C: The Value of Intersectionality in Cross-Collaboration in conjunction with API-GBV to attendees belonging to various gender-based violence organizations. This presentation fostered lively conversations around intersectionality and cross-collaboration, with one attendee asking about potential collaborations between the anti-FGM/C sphere and those working to end human trafficking. Overall, attendees reflected upon the interconnectedness of their various foci according to intersectionality.  

The second presentation, on April 24th, was in collaboration with the World Bank Group’s FGM Legal Working Group. Critical Intersections of FGM/C: Law and Policy in Systems of Oppression found attendees drawing on their current work, and how to interconnect to the issue of FGM/C. Concrete ideas emerged as to how to build cross-collaboration, including one participant emphasizing the simple action of referencing FGM/C in proposals to uplift the interconnection of the issue with other reproductive health and/or gender-based violence work.

Our interactive presentations support organizations to engage in the following:

• To build holistic programs that identify intersectional needs of FGM/C survivors
• To identify components of building successful collaborations across organizations focused on different social oppressions (i.e. systemic racism and FGM/C)
• To compile tools, resources, case studies, and more that illustrate how cross-collaboration can be carried out within the larger social justice field 

If you and your organization would like to schedule a presentation or workshop, reach out to Rachel Wine at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. You can also learn more by visiting Sahiyo.org! 

Farrah Dalal was one of the speakers who participated in our "Quiet Activism and the Psychosocial Impacts of Female Genital Cutting" webinar. Watch a recording of the event here.

By Farrah Dalal

Sharing my story and participating in events to uplift the cause of ending FGM/C always leaves me with feelings of physical heaviness afterwards. Normally, I would take this time to do some self-care, a nourishing meal, a comforting TV show, or a mindless walk through the grocery store. Today, I wanted to describe what I am feeling and release some of this tension through writing. 

As the years have passed, the topic is one that energizes and exhausts me at the same time. I wanted to expand on this, because as an activist and a survivor these two roles are often at odds. It’s hard to do the work, when the work still brings up so much emotion. I have difficulty deciding what to do with myself when the physical symptoms are present, and you realize how much pain the body stores. Giving myself permission to rest after these experiences has been very helpful for me.

During the webinar, I touched a lot on the theme of duality and living as two different people. I think almost anyone can relate to this concept and has experienced it at some point in their lives. For me, in my story, I talked about how exhausting it is to live this way and I had been doing that for the majority of my formative years. 

I am still actively doing the work of integrating these two separate people. A few years ago, I read Know My Name: A Memoir, Chanel Miller’s memoir. For many years she was known as “Emily Doe” in the media during the Stanford swimmer Brock Turner’s sexual assault trial before deciding to come forward about her experience. The book was beautifully written, as she discusses the  psychosocial impacts that manifested after the incident. 

I cried several times while reading it. I saw my younger self reflected in those pages, trying to grapple with who I was and what was being done to me. She so eloquently declares that coming forward – knowing her name – was a part of reclaiming herself and her lost identity – that she was still Chanel. That this was only one part of her, one bad thing that had happened, that shouldn’t erase all of the good things or the good things to come in her life. I couldn’t believe how similar our experiences and our “A-ha” moments were. 

This is around the time that I had decided to also “come forward” and share my story with my name and photo as part of my own healing journey through the “Voices to End FGM/C” project in 2022. No doubt, it was unnerving to share my story publicly. I thought about someone “Googling” me and this very well may be the first thing that comes up – something so personal and private – out there for the whole world to know and judge me for. 

At the same time, my passion for ending this practice takes precedence and the other things seem so small in comparison now. I can understand other survivors could be fearful and hesitant, or “feeling stuck” about sharing their experiences. It took a very long time for me to reach this point of openness, and I think having my own children greatly contributed to my having more of a public role in advancing the conversation to end the practice. 

When my story was released, the weight of what I had been carrying alone for so many years was lifted. Putting it out there was something I not only felt compelled to do, but needed to do for myself. It felt like, “now this is not just my responsibility, but your responsibility too. Here is my name and face and my personal experience and it matters. I am not from a faraway or fictitious land, I am your real family member, friend, neighbor, colleague – a citizen of your community.”

To echo what was shared in the webinar, yes, we need to end this practice in our communities, AND there are still hundreds of thousands of survivors who live among you and need affirming care. When I shared my “Voices” video the amount of support and acknowledgement I received was deeply healing, and even a quiet “thumbs up” or “heart” made me feel seen. I will continue to do the work that honors me. I’m not entirely sure what that will always look like – some days it may be loud, and others it may be quiet – but it will always be a part of my new identity that is still forming. 

Related:

• My story doesn’t end here by Farrah Dalal
• Female Genital Cutting Survivor Support Resources

SAHIYO WANTS TO HEAR FROM YOU! 

At Sahiyo, we’re always looking to publish blogs from fresh perspectives about anything and everything related to FGC and our mission. Maybe you read an article or watched something recently that inspired you or left you simply incensed – or perhaps you learned something that you think could help others. Maybe you’re working on a poem or painting to help you heal or recently stumbled upon a resource or blog that helped you – whatever it is, if it’s related to ending FGC, we want to know about it! 

If you’re interested please hit reply, or reach out to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information. We also understand staring at a blank page can be daunting, so we’re happy to arrange interviews and write the blog for you if you prefer.