WeSpeakOut spearheads two-day workshop on ending FGC in India
In a unique event bringing together activists working to end Female Genital Cutting and various stakeholders from civil society organisations, WeSpeakOut organised a two-day symposium at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) in Mumbai on August 1 and 2. The symposium, titled “Strategy-building Workshop on FGM/C in India”, was organised in partnership with TISS, […]
Sharing My Story of Female Genital Cutting with Other Survivors Comforted Me
By Leena KhandwalaI chose to tell my story of FGC to highlight how after more than three decades, my experience of being cut is still traumatizing and vivid. Everything about it — from the deception leading up to it and the silence around it — make for an unspeakably horrifying experience.Supporters of Female Genital Cutting […]
Sahiyo Stories – Women in the U.S. Share Stories on Female Genital Cutting
Sahiyo is excited to announce the launch of our digital story project: Sahiyo Stories! The project brought together nine women from across the United States to create personalized digital stories that narrate the experience of undergoing female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and/or the experience of their advocacy work to end this form of gender violence. It […]
‘Even Though I Was Impacted by Female Genital Cutting, I Knew Little About It’
By AnonymousI am a female genital cutting (FGC) survivor. I was born in Somalia, a country with one of the highest FGC rates in the world. Recently, Somalia was named by the Thomson Reuters Foundation as being the fourth most dangerous country for women, with FGC happening to 98% of women. I was cut when I was […]
Khatna Isn’t Black Or White, Just Like My Story
By AnonymousCountry of Residence: United StatesFemale Genital Cutting/Mutilation in the Bohra community is not black and white, just like how survivors and non-survivors’ stories are not black and white. This idea resonated the most with me during the Sahiyo Stories workshop held in Berkeley, California at the beginning of May. Sahiyo Stories allowed me to explore the […]
On The Supreme Court Hearings and The Pro-Khatna FAQs Circulated by Bohras
By Shabana FerozeCountry: Bahrain The Supreme Court of India is very close to deciding a ban on Female Genital Cutting (FGC) or khatna, and I couldn’t be happier. As a survivor of FGC myself (I live in Bahrain but had khatna done to me in a shady house in Hyderabad, India), I want to see […]
Why I Chose to Tell My Story About Female Genital Mutilation at the Sahiyo Stories’ Workshop
By Renee Bergstrom, EdDI chose to tell my story of FGM because I am aware that being silenced is a universal issue for those who have experienced it. When I read my story the first day at the StoryCenter, I was surprised that my voice cracked with emotion. Our sisterhood developed quickly from the strength of […]
The subject was heavy, but my heart felt light: My experience at Sahiyo’s StoryCenter workshop
By Salma QamruddinFemale genital cutting (FGC) sounds like a distant and antiquated practice, especially to those living in the US. Americans think FGC happens in remote African villages or in times of yore, but not locally and not now. Unfortunately, this is simply untrue. Sahiyo is an organization dedicated to opening up the conversation around modern FGC practices. Their […]
Why Won’t Massachusetts Pass A Law Against Female Genital Cutting?
Today, FGM/C is banned under federal law, yet, only 26 states in the U.S. have laws against it. Massachusetts is not one of them. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, it is estimated that over half a million girls and women in the United States are at risk. Massachusetts ranks 12th in […]
Want to help us end female genital cutting? Vote for Sahiyo in the Shared Nation Contest!
Since 2014, Shared Nation has provided an online platform for citizens all around the world to come together in order to solve shared global problems like poverty, climate change, and refugee crises. Shared Nation embraces the lessons of history, which has shown that when people act towards shared goals, they can achieve extraordinary things. This month, […]