Multiple events on female genital cutting hosted at Women Deliver in Vancouver
From June 2 to June 6th, Sahiyo co-founder, Mariya Taher took part in Women Deliver 2019 held in Vancouver, Canada this year. Over 8,000 participants took part in the conference and for the first time ever, a pre-conference on Female Genital Cutting was held on June 2nd, a day before the official start of the […]
Female Genital Cutting is an International Issue
By Brionna Wiggins Upon hearing about female genital cutting and what it entails, it seems that one of the first facts you hear about it has to do with its prevalence in Africa and the Middle East. While it is true that these continents have a high prevalence (which has been decreasing according to a […]
Global Women P.E.A.C.E Foundation 5K Walk Against FGM
Each year, the Global Women P.E.A.C.E. Foundation hosts a 5K Walk Against FGM in Washington, D.C., and activists working to end FGC around the world come to participate. This year, the event was extended to 2-days and commenced with a Global Woman Awards ceremony on Friday, Oct 26th at the Milken Institute of George Washington […]
Female Genital Cutting charges dismissed but our work continues: Global reactions to Michigan case news
By Sahiyo On November 20, U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman dismissed the female genital cutting charges in the historic Michigan case involving girls from the Dawoodi Bohra sect, emphasizing that FGC should be regulated by states as a “local criminal activity.” Congress enacted the 22-year-old federal law banning FGC in 1996 — the law Judge […]
An appeal to Maneka Gandhi: Stop the flip-flops on Female Genital Cutting in India
Sahiyo is deeply concerned about the Indian government’s repeated contradictory positions on the problem of Female Genital Cutting (FGC) in the country. In the span of just 13 months, India’s Ministry for Women and Child Development has flip-flopped on its stand on FGC at least twice. Its latest u-turn came on Wednesday, June 27, when […]
Sahiyo’s petition to the United Nations needs your help
In December 2016, Sahiyo started a petition with Change.org to encourage the United Nations to invest in research on Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting in Asian countries. The petition proposes to end FGM/C worldwide by 2030, and Sahiyo needs the support of 7,500 petition signers to accomplish our goal. The United Nations reports that at least 200 […]
White House Press Release Falsely links Gender Violence (and FGC) to Foreign Nationals
By Geethika Kodukula (Disclaimer: Although they graciously accepted it, the views in this post are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of Sahiyo or its founders. I am not myself an immigrant, Muslim, or an FGC survivor.) In January, the White House put out a press release wherein they mentioned a Department of […]
Building the data on Female Genital Cutting in the Bohra Community
In February 2017, Sahiyo released the findings of the first ever large scale global study on Female Genital Cutting in the Bohra community in order to gain insight into how and why this harmful practice continued. A year later, this February 2018 saw the release of a second large-scale research study entitled “The Clitoral Hood […]
Sahiyo to be a part of a new global movement for progressive Muslims
Sahiyo participates in the End Violence Against Girls Summit on FGM/C
Sahiyo’s Mariya Taher and Insia Dariwala participated in the End Violence Against Girls: Summit on FGM/C in Washington, DC on December 2, at the U.S. Institute of Peace. For the first time ever, the United Nations has prioritized the elimination of FGC under the goal of achieving gender equality as part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)—a 15-year plan to help […]