The importance of creating a body of knowledge on female genital cutting
By Cameron Adelman My ultimate career goal is to work in sexual health with underserved populations. Access to sexual and reproductive health services is incredibly difficult in most states in the United States. It is even more difficult for people living in low-income areas, for the LGBTQIA community, for immigrants, and for people coming from […]
How doctors responded to my genital mutilation: An American woman’s 70-year journey
By A. Renee Bergstrom, EdD Country of Residence: United States Renee chronicles her experiences with American physicians from the time she was cut at three years of age until seventy years later when she became an advocate against female genital mutilation. She also shared her story during the Sahiyo Stories Workshop to encourage other women […]
Voices to End FGM/C: Seeking Storytellers for Social Norm Change
This year, Sahiyo looks forward to continuing our partnership with StoryCenter, a community-arts organization that has for 20+ years worked with grassroots groups on participatory digital storytelling and media arts projects. To apply to be a participant, fill out the application! In 201 8, Sahiyo and Story Center worked together on Sahiyo Stories, and […]
My decision as a mother to not cut my daughters
By Masuma Kothari Country of Residence: United Kingdom A vivid memory of my cut has lived through so many years that I can recall the entire act. This experience always intrigued me and it did lead me to the insights of child psychology as to how tender a 7-year-old is. Even though my personal experience […]
Locating female genital cutting through films and documentaries
By Debangana Chatterjee Though films and documentaries related to female genital cutting (FGC) promise to uphold the realities surrounding the subject, there are undeniable strings of subjective interpretations attached to them. Thus, rather than becoming ‘real’, these films and documentaries transpire as the reel portrayal of realities. Desert Flower, a 2009 German production is the […]
Why female genital cutting still continues: Exploring the reasons behind its sustenance
By Debangana Chatterjee The reasons why female genital cutting (FGC) continues are multifarious and overlapping. Complex and interconnected sets of reasons for FGC are woven into the faiths of the communities. Thus, faith becomes the genesis of these reasons, making FGC considered to be beneficial by the communities. These reasons can be broadly grouped as traditional, […]
Sahiyo and StoryCenter win the #EndFGM Positive Action Challenge
In May 2018, Sahiyo and StoryCenter, hosted a digital storytelling workshop where FGC survivors from across the U.S. could come together to share their experiences. In September 2018, the digital stories were released online and several screenings of the digital stories have occurred. Now, Sahiyo and StoryCenter have been named 1 of 3 winners for […]
A Nigerian Nurse’s Perspective on Female Genital Cutting
By Brionna Wiggins Female genital cutting (FGC) occurs in many countries around the world. Through my future posts, I hope to explore a few of these places by meeting with those who can speak on them. Many African countries and countries in the Middle East have been reported to have a large concentration of practicing […]
A mother’s side of the story on female genital cutting
By Priya Ahluwalia Priya is a 22-year-old clinical psychology student at Tata Institute of Social Sciences – Mumbai. She is passionate about mental health, photography, and writing. She is currently conducting research on the individual experience of khatna and its effects. Read her other articles in this series: Khatna Research in Mumbai. The proverb, “It […]
Reflecting before we move forward: Overview of global FGC news from 2018
For everyone invested in laws and norms around the practices of FGC, 2018 was an incredibly eventful year. On January 22nd, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former Liberian president and first female head of state in Africa, on her last day in office, signed an executive order to ban FGC for a year. Over half of Liberian […]