An ode to every woman fighting social norms around the world
By Geethika Kodukula Country of Residence: USA (This month, Indian news reported three disturbing incidents targeting women and girls. In the first, 68 students at a women’s college in Gujarat were forcibly strip-searched to prove they were not on their period because the college’s religious administration does not allow menstruating women to enter temples or […]
Voices Series: Why silence is our enemy
This blog is part of a series of reflective essays by participants of the Voices to End FGM/C workshops run by Sahiyo and StoryCenter. Through residential and online workshops on digital storytelling, Voices to End FGM/C enables those who have been affected by female genital mutilation/cutting to tell their stories through their own perspectives, in their own words. By Jenny It […]
Khatna within the Bohra community: A Struggle of Tradition and Modernity
By Fatema Kakal (This is Part I in a series about female genital cutting within the Bohra community. Read Part II here) The Bohra Muslims, who have the reputation of being modern and progressive, secretly practice khatna, or female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) within India, as well as in other parts of the world. I learned […]
Voices Series: The power of naming
This blog is part of a series of reflective essays by participants of the Voices to End FGM/C workshops run by Sahiyo and StoryCenter. Through residential and online workshops on digital storytelling, Voices to End FGM/C enables those who have been affected by female genital mutilation/cutting to tell their stories through their own perspectives, in their own words. by Comfort Dondo […]
Voices Series: Finding my voice through storytelling on female genital mutilation/cutting
By Siti Kusujiarti In September 2019, I participated in the Voices to End FGM/C Workshop in Asheville. In this workshop I met with a group of amazing participants and facilitators. From the participants I learned various experience and stories and felt that we had a sense of solidarity and strength from sharing the perspectives. It […]
Survivor: Why labia elongation is female genital mutilation
February 6th marks the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting. By Jenny Cordle When Comfort Dudzai was 9 years old, her father’s two sisters and her nanny took her and her cousins to her family’s rural home in Chipinge, in the eastern highlands of Zimbabwe outside of Harare. In six long weeks […]
Voices to End FGM/C Launch: 27 survivors and activists create videos to share their stories
Important links: Watch the Voices to End FGM/C survivor and activist videos here, as they are released every week.Read blogs by participants of Voices to End FGM/C by following the “Voices Series” here. Today, the occasion of the International Day of Zero Tolerance towards Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C), Sahiyo and StoryCenter are proud to announce […]
Voices Series: Survivors are more than their stories
This blog is part of a series of reflective essays by participants of the Voices to End FGM/C workshops run by Sahiyo and StoryCenter. Through residential and online workshops on digital storytelling, Voices to End FGM/C enables those who have been affected by female genital mutilation/cutting to tell their stories through their own perspectives, in their own words. By Maryum Saifee […]
Intern Spotlight: Sahiyo Social Media Intern Farhan Zia
Farhan Zia joined Sahiyo’s team as a social media intern in 2019. He is an undergraduate student reading the law at Jindal Global Law School, in O.P. Jindal Global University, India. He researches the intersections of law with human rights, gender and religion, and has a deep interest in engaging with theology and religion from […]
How Melinda Gates’ Moment of Lift addresses female genital cutting
By Kristin Pepper In December 2019, our book club discussed Melinda Gates’ book, Moment of Lift, and experienced firsthand Melinda’s process ourselves. One of our members knew that the book mentioned female genital cutting (FGC), and asked Mariya Taher, an expert on FGC, to join our discussion using Skype. Just as Melinda looked into how […]