By Rachel Wine
Held on September 10, and co-hosted by Sahiyo and The U.S. End FGM/C Network, Farzana Doctor introduced her new workbook: “52 Weeks To A Sweeter Life”. The workbook is dedicated to the caregiver type and provides strategies for self-care and tapping into care via community, both of which are often overlooked in the sphere of activism.
Farzana began by sharing her experiences with burnout and vicarious trauma, as well as her personal journey toward self-care as an activist. As she relays in the book, her experience is unique but also ties into the greater experience of grind culture and deprioritization of individual and collective well-being. To combat these challenges, Farzana explores what self-care and community care look like, how they are linked, and highlights the four strategies for well-being she deems essential:
- [Know] burnout is structurally rooted
- Understand the links between self- and community-care
- Normalize burnout and compassion fatigue as human experiences that require our gentle attention
- Let your nervous system be your guide
As an activist, and someone that struggles to take time for myself, I am grateful for the accessible and open-hearted guide Farzana has created. You can buy a copy of Farzana’s workbook here.
The event ended with a testimony from Severina Lemachokoti, an anti-FGC activist, human rights defender, and gender activist from the Samburu community in Northern Kenya. Severina’s experiences with the challenges of balancing activism and her personal life provided a successful backdrop for the need of the FGM/C Policy Advocate Care Fund.
Recognizing the need to support activists who often provided labor and advocacy to further social justice issues at the expense of their well-being, the U.S. Network in partnership with Sahiyo U.S. launched the FGM/C Policy Advocate Care Fund. The fund’s goal is to ensure advocates are fairly compensated and honored for their invaluable contributions, addressing the gaps in funding and acknowledgment they too often face.