First Online Study on Khatna Conducted by Sahiyo
First Online Study on Khatna Conducted by Sahiyo In 2015, Sahiyo embarked on a mission to better understand the extent, purpose, and impact of the practice of khatna of FGC within the Dawoodi Bohras. Acknowledging that this practice is a very personal and sensitive topic within the community, and that almost no one speaks about […]
It was a part of me…part of my womanhood…
(Trigger Warning: The story below is a powerfully, vivid account of one woman’s memory of FGC. We are grateful to her for sharing with us the details of her experience) By Mariya Ali Country: United Kingdom I have very few memories of my childhood, but one memory in particular stands out and haunts me to this […]
The Practice of Khatna or Female Genital Mutilation amongst the Dawoodi (Daudi) Bohra Shia Muslim Community – Part 1
(originally published on Ms. Dilshad Tavawala’s wordpress.com blog on January 17, 2016. Reposted here with permission) By Ms. Dilshad Tavawalla, B.A., LL.M., Barrister, Solicitor, Notary Public – Toronto, Canada Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) has been an international cause célèbre, and generated remarkable global attention for the past several decades. At international and intergovernmental levels, there is unequivocal […]
FEMALE GENITAL CUTTING A Continuing Tradition
(Original Post on Imagining Equality Project Page, published in July 2014 by Global Fund for Women & International Museum of Women) In this deeply personal piece, author Mariya Taher wrestles with and speaks out against khatna, female genital cutting, a tradition practiced by her family community. Read her story and the stories of six other interviewees below. *** Having […]
Documentary ‘A Pinch of Skin’ highlights FGC in India
A Pinch of Skin, a short documentary made in 2012, depicts the practice of Female Genital Cutting, also known as khatna or sunnat by the Dawoodi Bohras in India. Screened worldwide, the film received the prestigious National Award of India for being the first documentary to highlight the taboo practice of khatna. The film brings […]
SIGN ANTI-FGC PETITION TODAY!
In 2011, an anonymous Bohra woman using the name ‘Tasleem’ made the first attempt to end the practice of female khatna through an online petition on Change.org. That petition was addressed to Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin and received less than 4,000 signatures. The Bohra community has come a long way since then. On December 1, […]
In Australia, three Bohras found guilty for circumcising daughters
This November, for the first time in the history of the Dawoodi Bohra community, three of its members in Australia were held guilty for carrying out Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) on two minor girls. FGM has been a criminal offence in Australia since 1997, with a maximum punishment of seven years in prison. Australia were […]
A Little Piece of Skin
Nationality: USA Ethnicity: Indian (Gujarati) Author: Anonymous 30-year-old I was not more than seven years old when I recall going into a medical complex on a quiet Sunday afternoon accompanied by my mother and our family friend. My mother told me it was time for my “khatna” or circumcision. She explained it as a rite […]
The Good Mother
(The piece below is the film-maker’s exploration on filming/’framing’ the ‘Good Mother’ for a practice which she (the film-maker) felt was a violation but her protagonist thought it to be in the best interests of her daughter.) They said ‘to be a good mother you must take your daughter through the ritual’. They said it […]