Healing from Khatna with EMDR
By: Sunera Sadicali Trigger warning: This article contains graphic descriptions of female genital cutting (FGC). Khatna (or FGC) is much more than a physical wound. It has stayed quiet in my mind. I was not conscious of the impact of FGC on me and had dismissed it with all kinds of justifications. My therapist uses […]
Sexual pleasure after female genital cutting
By Derrick Simiyu “Female genital cutting is practiced to control women’s sexuality.” This statement was one of the first things I learned as I read through materials on Sahiyo’s website when I began my internship, as an Events and Programs Intern. This inspired me to think about how harmful female genital cutting or FGC is, […]
Reflecting on Moving Towards Sexual Pleasure and Emotional Healing After Female Genital Cutting Part 2
On November 17th, Sahiyo hosted part two of the ‘Moving Towards Sexual Pleasure and Emotional Healing After Female Genital Cutting’ webinar. Two specialist speakers helped to lead the webinar: Haddi Ceesey, a health educator on sexual and reproductive health, and Nazneen Vasi, an expert in physical and pelvic floor therapy. Nazneen began by asking the […]
Upcoming Webinar: Moving Towards Sexual Pleasure and Emotional Healing Part 2
By Amela Tokić Last October, Sahiyo hosted a webinar called Moving Towards Sexual Pleasure and Emotional Healing After Female Genital Cutting. This provided an opportunity to hear from three inspirational speakers: psychotherapist and author Farzana Doctor, activist Sarian Karim-Kamara, and psychotherapist Joanna Vergoth, on female genital cutting (FGC), sexuality and its connection to mental health. […]
Your questions answered: Moving Towards Sexual Pleasure and Emotional Healing After Female Genital Cutting
Last fall Sahiyo partnered with three award-winning and talented speakers Farzana Doctor, Sarian Karim-Kamara, and Joanna Vergoth to host Moving Towards Sexual Pleasure and Emotional Healing After Female Genital Cutting (FGC). During this webinar, we had the opportunity to hear from these speakers about the mental and emotional consequences of female genital cutting (FGC), how […]
Sahiyo staff spoke in a symposia entitled Mothers and daughters: continuity, love, fear and belonging
Sahiyo Communications Coordinator Lara Kingstone and co-founder Mariya Taher were honored to speak on behalf of Sahiyo in a symposia entitled, Patriarchal Inscriptions: Female Bodies Contested, Invaded, Defended & Owned, hosted by King’s College London Faculty of Arts and Humanities. The session that Sahiyo participated in served to address feminism, survivors’ relationships with mothers, other […]
A Reflection on Moving Towards Sexual Pleasure and Emotional Healing After Female Genital Cutting
By Cate Cox On Thursday, October 22nd, Sahiyo partnered with three award-winning and multi-talented speakers Farzana Doctor, Sarian Karim-Kamara, and Joanna Vergoth to host Moving Towards Sexual Pleasure and Emotional Healing After Female Genital Cutting (FGC). During this webinar, we had the opportunity to hear from these speakers about the mental and emotional consequences of […]
From Saving Safa to Seven: How authors use writing to shed light on FGC
By Cate Cox “Without our work, the issue would quickly be swept under the carpet — and so we carry on.” —Waris Dirie, Saving Safa It wasn’t until my first year at university before I was asked to critically engage with the issue of female genital cutting (FGC). Up until then what I knew about […]
On the path to healing: My journey after experiencing female genital cutting
By Anonymous Country of Residence: United States Every woman that has been cut has a story to tell. I tell my story not to offer a universal account of female genital cutting (FGC), but one that is specific to me. At a young age, I underwent Type II female genital cutting, known specifically as “taharah” […]
Art: A Tool for Healing and Dialogue with Communities Affected by FGM
By Naomi Rosen Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C), although often surrounded by secrecy and taboo, is now discussed more frequently in the media. Activist groups such as Sahiyo are taking great steps to heighten awareness and dialogue, within relational, familial, and community contexts, because the practice is often hidden, shameful, and the subject is therefore avoided. […]