Is the United Kingdom backing out of its commitment to end female genital cutting amid the COVID-19 pandemic?
By Olivia Bridge In the midst of a global pandemic set to the backdrop of Brexit, ending violence against women and girls (VAWG) appears to have slipped down the United Kingdom (U.K.) Government’s priority list. Yet, as campaigners and charities are acutely aware, abuse thrives in silence behind closed doors – and women and girls […]
Sahiyo address FGM/C education in webinar
On July 30th, Sahiyo teamed up with the Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation and The Council of the Great City Schools to host a webinar, Learning about Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) in the Classroom: The importance of nationwide education as a tool for prevention. FGM/C affects over 200 million girls and women globally, with many more […]
Massachusetts Senate passes FGM/C bill
BOSTON, MA – July 30, 2020 – Sahiyo would like to thank the President of the Massachusetts Senate, Karen Spilka, and bill sponsor Senator Joe Boncore (D-First Suffolk and Middlesex) for the passage of bill H4606 “An Act Relative to the Penalties for the crime of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C)” in Massachusetts. The FGM/C bill had […]
Massachusetts House passes FGM/C bill
July 16, 2020 – The Massachusetts House of Representatives has just voted favorably in an informal session to pass a bill to protect girls from female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C). H.4606 – An Act Relative to the Penalties for the Crime of Female Genital Mutilation will now go to the Senate floor for a vote. Survivor […]
Op-Ed: A Global Platform to End FGM/C
We must accelerate an end to FGM/C. Every 11 seconds a girl somewhere in the world will go through female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C.) The procedure is often extremely painful, and carried out with a crude, unsterilized instrument and without anesthesia. Every 11 seconds. FGM/C has no medical benefits, and often has disastrous effects, including a […]
PRESS RELEASE: A pioneering Roundtable to Address Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting in Massachusetts
Download press release as PDF PRESS RELEASE: A pioneering Roundtable to Address Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting in Massachusetts Boston, Massachusetts, 14 June 2019 On June 13, 2019, a collective of almost 60 experts from different disciplines and cultural groups took the first steps to create a ‘Massachusetts End FGM/C Network’, to highlight the largely […]
Joint Press Release: ENDING FGM/C BY 2030: Uniting forces to make FGM/C a practice of the past
Download Press Release as PDF JOINT PRESS RELEASE: ENDING FGM/C BY 2030: Uniting forces to make FGM/C a practice of the past 2nd June 2019, Vancouver (Canada) 3.9 million girls are at risk of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) every year. On the 2nd June 2019, for the first time ever, NGOs, grassroots and survivor-led organizations […]
31 US States Now Have Laws Against Female Genital Cutting, But Government Will Not Appeal in the Federal Michigan Case
On April 10, the U.S. Department of Justice decided not to appeal the November 2018 judgement by a US District Court which ruled that the federal law banning Female Genital Cutting is unconstitutional. The District Court had stated that FGC is a “local criminal activity” to be handled at the state level and that Congress did not have the […]
Five things you need to know about the controversial court ruling on FGM/C in USA: Sahiyo explains
by Sahiyo On November 20, 2018, United States District Judge Bernard Friedman ruled that the US Federal Law banning Female Genital Cutting (FGC, also known as Female Genital Mutilation or FGM) is unconstitutional. With this ruling, the judge dismissed key charges of FGM against two Michigan doctors and six other people accused of practicing genital […]
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 […]