The Un-Cut
(Originally published on Café Dissensus website on May 5, 2016. Republished here with permission from author). (Trigger Warning: Below is the account of one woman’s experience of her sister undergoing FGC. We thank her for being brave and sharing her story with us). Country: India By Insia Dariwala I still recall that wet rainy day in […]
Speaking out about Female Genital Cutting among Malays in Singapore
by Filzah Sumartono Singapore is usually presented as a modern, cosmopolitan city. Yet, underneath the facade of modernity, female genital cutting (FGC) – known locally as ‘sunat perempuan’ – is still practiced in Singapore within the ethnic Malay community who are predominantly Muslim. Whenever I bring up the topic of female genital cutting with my non-Malay […]
Receiving the ‘Daughter of Maharashtra’ award: Sahiyo co-founder shares her experience
by Insia Dariwala On July 23, 2016, Sahiyo was felicitated with the very prestigious ‘Daughter of Maharashtra’ award for our continuous efforts in addressing FGM/C in India. Sahiyo co-founder Insia Dariwala, who received the award on behalf of Sahiyo at the ceremony in Pune, shares her experience here: The award, a brainchild of Nari […]
Thoughts on Tostan’s Training Center Experience
From July 12 to July 21st, Shaheeda and Mariya attended Tostan’s Training Center (TTC) in Senegal. The TTC is an international training course designed to teach participants about its human rights-based approach to community-led development, which the NGO has developed and updated in response to feedback from thousands of communities in different socio-cultural African contexts over […]
Tips on Writing a Letter to Your Legislator or Government Official
Sahiyo has been seeing an increase in the number of individuals sending letters to their legislators or government officials regarding their concern that FGC or khatna is occurring in their community. These letters, written by Bohra women anonymously or with their name, have been circulating the social media streams, particularly on Whatsapp. Sahiyo would […]
Sahiyo Receives ‘Daughter of Maharashtra’ Award from Nari Samata Manch
Nari Samata Manch has been working on gender issues for last 30 years. Gender-based violence is the core area of Nari Samata Manch work. The organization has institutionalized an award ‘Daughter of Maharashtra’ to honor women who have contributed significantly for the cause of gender equality. The name of the award is a byproduct of a […]
#NoMoreKhatna: Highlights from Sahiyo’s animated Twitter chat on FGC
On July 7, 2016, we at Sahiyo hosted our first Twitter chat on Female Genital Cutting (FGC) from our Twitter handle, @sahiyo2016. The need for an online debate on this subject evolved for various reasons. For the past several months, Dawoodi Bohras on social media have been increasingly vocal about their varied views on female khatna. Then in […]
Sahiyo heads to Senegal for Tostan Training Centre
Sahiyo is pleased to announce that Mariya and Shaheeda will be attending the upcoming Tostan Training Centre (TTC) in Senegal this July as Orchid Project Fellows. Over the past 25 years, Tostan has witnessed positive social transformation in thousands of communities in eight African countries. Although contributing to the abandonment of FGC was not one […]
#NoMoreKhatna – Join Sahiyo on a Twitter Chat about FGC!
Sahiyo will be hosting a Twitter Conversation on Female Genital Cutting (FGC) to be held on Thursday, July 7th from 6:00- 8:00 PM IST for India; 2:30-4.30 PM for Egypt; 8:30-10:30 AM EST for the United States. We will be moderating the discussion from the Sahiyo Twitter handle (@sahiyo2016) and will be using the hashtag #NoMoreKhatna […]
Sahiyo receives IAWRT grant to conduct media workshop in Mumbai
Sahiyo is delighted to announce that our organization was awarded a grant by the International Association of Women in Radio and Television ( IAWRT, www.iawrt.org) to conduct a media training workshop in Mumbai, this August. Media has played crucial role in informing people at large about the practice of female genital cutting or khatna […]