Milken Institute School of Public Health Joins Sahiyo U.S. and Other Community Partners in Receiving $300,000 DOJ Grant to Prevent Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting
WASHINGTON, DC – (February 6, 2024) – The Milken Institute School of Public Health alongside its community partners announced today they received a $300,000 grant from the Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) to provide training and technical assistance focused on the prevention and response to female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) to community-based […]
Sahiyo publishes second report from Critical Intersections Research Project
Sahiyo U.S. is excited to announce the publication of Examining Intersections Between Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting And Social Oppressions: A Mixed Methods Study, the second of three reports from our Critical Intersections Research Project. Inspired by our 2021 webinar, and building upon themes derived from our initial body of work released in 2023, this new report […]
Sahiyo to release nine new Voices to End FGM/C digital stories
“Everything I learned from the workshop was gold to me. I enjoyed all the sessions and the new skills I acquired in creating a digital story (…) about a scar. A scar that my primary duty bearers believed was necessary to have in order to be labeled as the “purified” girl, for marriage, as opposed […]
Musuya (Womanhood)
“I believe they don’t really know what it is and how it is conducted, the procedures, and the negative impact that it has… It will be easy to say ‘don’t ban FGM’ when you don’t know what happened in there.” In S Danso’s country, men are working in Parliament to repeal the ban on female […]
It’s a Marathon, Not a Race
By Amie Kujabi I am an FGM/C survivor. For the past two decades, my advocacy on FGM/C has been centered around other survivors and girls at risk—but never have I shared my story. A story that shaped the trajectory of my childhood and marked the beginning of a long…long…lonely self-awareness journey to an unknown destination. […]
Turning Grief into Purpose
Gugu Makhari learned about the Voices to End FGM/C digital storytelling project through a friend and through personal research online. She wanted to share a story about how both female genital cutting (FGC) and male circumcision are normalized in her community. Those who undergo these harmful practices are often celebrated after they are cut. “After […]
Resilience
By Jeniffer Dias When I learned I had an opportunity to participate in the Voices to End FGM/C workshop, I first talked with my mentor, Bárbara Oliveira, and told her that I would like to talk about myself. She told me: “This is the moment to remove your ‘mask’ and talk about you, about who […]
A Personal Journey: Breaking the Silence on FGM
By Isatou Jallow In my film “Behind The Wall,” I’ve chosen to share my deeply personal experience with Type 3 Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Through this storytelling, my aim is threefold. First, I want to educate. FGM, deeply rooted in tradition, often goes unquestioned. By unveiling the raw pain and suffering I endured, I hope […]
Breaking the Cycle: A Journey in Women’s Health and FGM/C Awareness
By Aries Nuño In participating in Sahiyo’s Voices to End FGM/C digital storytelling workshop, I chose to share a story that examined my journey toward understanding women’s health. This journey was not just a personal quest, but a response to a disquieting cultural reality: the pervasive silence among generations of women about their own bodies. […]
Bearing Tradition: Navigating the Pressure of Khatna
By Faizneen Bharmal Growing up in a progressive and well-educated Dawoodi Bohra family, the topic of Khatna, commonly known as female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) around the world, was always shrouded in silence. The subject was rarely broached unless one became a parent, at which point it became relevant. For the majority of my life, I […]