“The Weight of Silence” – What an Indian Dawoodi Bohra Discovered at an American FGM/C Retreat
By: Anonymous Twelve women of all ages sat patiently around neatly stacked piles of fuzzy, colorful craft sticks—black, brown, white, some even blood-red- but as the Sahiyo retreat progressed, the craft table appeared increasingly disorganized. I assume it was because of the intimate and uncomfortable conversations we were having. Most of the participants, including me, […]
Why I Came Back
By: Nur Bookwala Both sides of my family are Bohri. My Dad was raised Baha’i in a joint family with a Bohri matriarch – his grandmother. My mother was raised in a nuclear Bohri family in Bandra. My mom would convert to the Baha’i Faith in her late 20s when she moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. […]
DMV Coalition Hosts Powerful Webinar on Ending Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting in the Region
By: Katie Bai On July 1st, 2025, the DMV Coalition to End FGM/C hosted an impactful webinar, titled “A History of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting in Washington D.C.,” that brought together over 40 attendees from across the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, and beyond! The event was a powerful reminder of the strength and momentum behind […]
Beyond Advocacy: How the Sahiyo Retreat Deepened My Healing
By Lubaina Plumber I still remember the first time I attended a Sahiyo retreat. I walked into the retreat feeling uncertain, not quite knowing what to expect.But I left with a deep sense of connection—like I had just found a room full of people who spoke a language I had been struggling to translate for […]
You don’t know how much you need it until it’s over
By Umme Kulsoom Arif, Esq. I first attended a Sahiyo Activists’ Retreat in 2022, when virtual meetings were still the norm. Since then, I have been a member of the Activists’ Retreat planning committee, working on programming and logistics for in-person and virtual retreats alike. The 2025 Activists’ Retreat was my second in-person retreat. I’m not […]
Reflecting on the FGC 101 Training at the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault Conference
By: Jumai Olumo-Saidu Attending and presenting at the annual Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault (ICASA) conference in Springfield, Illinois, was a transformative experience. As a volunteer at Sahiyo and a second-year community psychology student at the National Louis University, I co-led an FGC 101 training session with Sahiyo’s Training and Technical Assistance Coordinator, Aries Nuno […]
Sahiyo’s Second Annual Silent Auction & Comedy Show Reflection
Thank you to everyone who participated in Sahiyo’s 2nd annual Women’s Day Celebration & Silent Auction! We are truly grateful for the show of support. With the help of our incredible donors and supporters, we raised over $13K. Our five-day celebration of women’s voices began on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, by opening our virtual auction […]
Reflecting on Sahiyo’s Voices Healing Circle
On December 18th, Sahiyo hosted a Voices Healing Circle where participants from across workshop cohorts came together to reconnect and meet new members of the Voices network. These sessions are part of Sahiyo’s ongoing support events for Voices alumni, serving to create a space for sharing experiences, fostering camaraderie, navigating the challenges, and celebrating the […]
My time at the 2023 Peer-to-Peer National ARP Convening
In October 2023, Sahiyo’s Community Engagement Coordinator Samman Masud as well as long-time Sahiyo volunteer and Activists Retreat planning committee member Umme Kulsoom Arif attended the 2023 Peer-to-Peer National American Rescue Plan (ARP) Convening in Washington D.C. The three-day convention welcomed representatives from over 40 non-profit organizations throughout the U.S. to join other grantees of […]
Jo Keogh reflects on the 2023 Women Deliver Conference
The Women Deliver 2023 Conference (WD 2023) took place in-person, as well as virtually, from 17-20 July 2023, in Kigali, Rwanda. The conference convened around 6,000 people in Kigali, and over 200,000 people online. Amongst those attending the conference was Jo Keogh, Sahiyo U.S. Advisory Board member as well as a founding member of the […]