Founders Interview Series: Insia Dariwala Reflects on Sahiyo’s 10 Year Anniversary
About the Founder: Insia Dariwala is an award-winning international filmmaker/child rights activist, TEDx speaker, an Author, a Therapist, and a Creative Campaign Strategist who effectively uses her creative expertise to highlight various social evils, including, child sexual abuse (CSA), and female genital cutting (FGC) through the medium of visual arts and cinema. I was writing […]
Founders Interview Series: Mariya Taher Reflects on Sahiyo’s 10 Year Anniversary
About the Founder: Mariya Taher is a Co-founder of and the current Executive Director of Sahiyo. She has worked in gender-based violence for nearly fifteen years in the areas of teaching, research, policy, program development, and direct service. In 2018, Mariya received the Human Rights Storytellers Award from the Muslim American Leadership Alliance. After starting […]
Founders Interview Series: Priya Goswami Reflects on Sahiyo’s 10 Year Anniversary
About the Founder: Priya Goswami (she/her) is a Mozilla fellow, co-founder, and CEO of the feminist tech and social entrepreneurship app Mumkin App. In 2015, she co-founded Sahiyo, with four women, an international non-profit in the US and India today. She is a filmmaker by training, a recipient of the German Chancellor Fellowship, and a […]
Sahiyo Celebrates 10 Years with New 501(c)(3) Status
We are thrilled to share a major milestone in Sahiyo’s journey: we are now an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization! This official status marks an important step forward, giving us greater autonomy and flexibility to expand our work, supporting communities impacted by female genital cutting (FGC) and advancing reproductive health equity. In addition, Sahiyo has earned […]
Join us for the official launch of the HOPE MA Coalition on February 6th, 2026, International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation.
This invite-only event is designed for healthcare providers, social workers, community advocates, survivors, and allies who want to learn more or strengthen their commitment to ending FGM/C in Massachusetts. The HOPE MA Coalition Launch Event will bring attendees into the project’s vision and lay the foundation for ongoing collaboration. A networking lunch will also allow […]
Digital Storytelling’s Role in Healing and Advocacy Against Female Genital Mutilation/ Cutting
The 12th International Digital Storytelling Conference (DST2025 and also known as the 1st International Conference on Social Technologies of Memory) took place in October and November 2025 with virtual and in-person events in São Paulo, Brazil. Sahiyo, Asian Women’s Shelter (AWS), and Silence Speaks co-presented a session that explored how participatory digital storytelling can advance […]
Founders Interview Series: Aarefa Johari Reflects on Sahiyo’s 10 Year Anniversary
About the Founder: Aarefa Johari is a journalist, feminist, activist, and aspiring violinist based in Mumbai, India. She has been publicly speaking out against Female Genital Cutting since 2011 and was listed by News Deeply as one of six global experts on FGC to watch out for in 2017. Around 2011 I was working as […]
Coming Together in Community: Fundraising for Sahiyo
This year, our community came together in inspiring ways to raise awareness and support for Sahiyo’s mission to end female genital cutting (FGC) and uplift survivor voices. From yoga mats to wine glasses, each gathering reminded us of the power of connection, creativity, and collective action. Yoga for Healing and AwarenessSahiyo’s Executive Director, Mariya Taher, […]
Uplifting the HOPE MA Website: A New Era for FGM/C Prevention and Empowerment
We are thrilled to announce the launch of the new website for the HOPE MA, or the Holistic Organized Partnership to End FGM/C in Massachusetts. This project is a significant step forward in our collective mission to prevent female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C), promote healing, and empower communities to address this issue across Massachusetts. The HOPE […]
FGM/C in the Americas: 5 things to know about the Inter-American Human Rights hearing
Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) is a grave human rights violation that involves the partial or total removal or other injury to the external female genitalia for non-medical reasons. It affects over 230 million women and girls worldwide and occurs on every continent except Antarctica. For far too long, global efforts to address FGM/C have focused […]