Sahiyo spotlight: Incoming U.S. Advisory Board Chair Zehra Patwa
Zehra Patwa, Sahiyo U.S. Advisory Board Chair, is the Co-Founder and U.S. Lead of WeSpeakOut, an organization that strives to work for equal rights for Bohra women in all spheres of life, specifically, on Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) or khafz. She grew up in London and was educated at the University of Bradford Management Centre in the […]
Volunteer spotlight: Editorial Intern Cecilia Mwakenya
Cecilia Mwakenya is a journalist, and a recent graduate from Rural Aid Kenya, where she pursued a diploma in communications (broadcast option). Previously, she worked as a social media volunteer at Tunza Dada, as well as a news reporter at Hekima FM and the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC). Cecilia is passionate about women and girl’s […]
Washington State becomes 41st state to pass law against FGM/C
Sahiyo, as part of the Washington Coalition to End FGM/C, is ecstatic to announce that on April 20th, 2023, Washington state Governor Jay Inslee signed Senate Bill 5453 concerning female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) into law. This law creates a private right of action for survivors of FGM/C; prohibits providers from performing FGM/C on a minor; […]
Not allowing my story on female genital mutilation/cutting to be hidden anymore
By Anonymous Why did you want to attend the workshop and share your story? I attended the workshop to finally tell my story and give it the voice it deserves. I have never talked about my experience before, and as someone who wants to help other people share their stories, I knew that it had […]
Sahiyo releases seven new Voices to End Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting videos created by survivors and advocates
“I’m so grateful for Sahiyo, and for the Voices to End FGM/C project for providing me with the platform to bring this story out of the darkness. Nearly two decades later, I am still healing and working on growing around my grief. Now, I think about who I want to be because this happened to […]
Reflecting on Sahiyo’s International Women’s Day Celebration & Silent Auction
Thank you to everyone who participated in Sahiyo’s inaugural International Women’s Day Celebration & Silent Auction! We are truly grateful for the show of support. With the help of our incredible donors and supporters, we raised over $14K. Our five-day celebration of women’s voices began on Wednesday, March 8, 2023, with a fun and interactive […]
Who are you, really?
By Umme I play a lot of video games. I watch even more video essays about video games. Written and recorded by people who’ve made careers out of literary analysis, these videos feel a bit like a virtual book club, joining with thousands of other viewers and commenters to play, analyze, and discuss our favorite […]
Full circle: A bridge from the political to the personal
BBy Lakshmi Anantnarayan I recently attended Sahiyo and Story Center’s Voices to End FGM/C Digital Storytelling workshop to share my experience as an anti-female genital mutilation (FGM) advocate. I certainly did not expect the process to be so enlightening and personally fulfilling! Though my work to end FGM goes back more than 20 years in the U.S., […]
Trusting Me
By Muna Osman Why did you want to attend the workshop and share your story? I first found out about the Voices workshop when I met with Mariya. The meeting was in a different setting; I had no idea about the workshop before she told me about what Sahiyo does with these stories. After that […]
Moving Forward
By Nazneen Vasi The topic of Khatna, also known as female genital cutting (FGC), has always been interesting. Within my family, there are those who are against it, and those who support it. It is clearly not a religious custom, but more cultural. How did it even become a part of our culture? And why […]