Why one Bohra woman shared her experience with female genital cutting publicly
By Jenny Cordle On February 5th of last year, one day before the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C), Zahra Khozema, 24, shared her deeply personal story of having been cut as a member of the Dawoodi Bohra sect in Pakistan. “Being part of the Bohra community is feeling like a […]
Sleeping researchers and lack of data on female genital cutting in Pakistan
By Huda Syyed Two decades ago, I flipped through Reader’s Digest to distract my mind from schoolwork and the sweltering summer heat of Pakistan. My eyes glanced at the brief excerpt displayed mid-page with a glossy picture of a famous Somalian model, Waris Dirie. She exuded a sense of resilience, and I knew there was […]
The undecided: Conversations with survivors of Female Genital Cutting in Pakistan
By Hina Javed(This is the fourth part in a series of essays by Hina Javed on her experience of reporting on FGC in Pakistan. Read the whole series here: Pakistan Journal.) My conversations with survivors had by now made it clear that the more answers I received, the more questions arose. Wrapping my head around […]
A tale of deception: My conversation with an FGC survivor in Pakistan
By Hina Javed (This is the third part in a series of essays by Hina Javed on her experience of reporting on FGC in Pakistan. Read the whole series here: Pakistan Journal.) The time had come to pick up that phone. Little did I know that my conversation with an FGC survivor would be more […]
The unsolved riddle: conversations with survivors (Part 2)
By Hina Javed (This is the second part in a series of essays by Hina Javed on her experience of reporting on FGC in Pakistan. Read the whole series here: Pakistan Journal.) That night, after witnessing truth being replaced with the censor’s lie, I spent hours alone in my room, flinching at every little thought […]
Violated hopes: My struggle to report on Female Genital Cutting in Pakistan
By Hina Javed Country: Pakistan When sporting my journalistic hat, I tend to sniff out stories from unlikely sources, wherever they are hidden. I look out for news, dropping into places to see what is new. This time around, however, I wasn’t particularly looking for a story. I was just making small talk with a […]
FGC Articles & Research in Other Countries
FGC in Asia: FGC in Australia: FGC in Canada: FGC in Colombia: FGC and COVID: FGC in Egypt: FGC and Islam: FGC in Indonesia: FGC in Iran: FGC in Iraq: FGC in Malaysia: FGC in Oman: FGC in Pakistan: FGC in Philippines: FGC in Russia: FGC in Saudi Arabia: FGC in Singapore: FGC in Sri […]
Why the khatna conversation needs men’s voices too
(First published on June 7, 2016) by Ammar Karimjee Age: 24 Country: Pakistan I found out when I was 19. I’d just heard about the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) in an Anthropology class, and had dismissed it as something that simply happens in rural African villages. After class, I’d expressed […]
The Role of Men in Ending FGM in the Bohra Community
