I was spared from khatna because my Dadi happened to pass away
by Anonymous Age: 34 Country: India I came to know about the practice when I was seven years old, but all I knew was that khatna means removing something from your body. My two elder sisters have undergone khatna, but I was not cut. The reason for this is that my dadi (grandmother) passed away […]
I don’t remember my khatna. But it feels like a violation
(First published on February 23, 2016) Zehra Patwa Age: 45 Country: United States In 2014, I saw a video that changed my life. My husband sat me down, told me that this was going to be upsetting, and showed me a video. It was a documentary from Australia featuring my cousin’s wife recounting her experience […]
I was cut, my daughter too, but it stops with my granddaughter
Age: 58 Country: India I was 7 years old when my grandmother told me that she is taking me out. I was so happy and dressed up quickly, expecting to be given some goodies. Instead, I was taken to the house of a strange lady who frightened me when she pinned me down. And after […]
Why this Bohra father is guilty about his daughter’s Khatna
(First published on May 5, 2016) Name: Yusuf Country: India The fatwa given during the Zikra majlis by Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin in favor of female genital cutting dug up the wound that exists in my heart which makes me write this post. Looking at parts from the audio clip leaked from the majlis, at one […]
‘I begged my mother not to circumcise me. She listened to me.’
By Anonymous Age: 26 Country: United States (Read the Hindi translation of this article here.) I remember hearing about it for the first time in my Saturday school class. A male teacher was taking our class that Saturday morning, and the topic was circumcision. At the ripe age of 14, I didn’t really know what that meant, but […]
The sacred self: Reflections on female circumcision by a Singaporean Malay
(Originally posted by BEYONDHIJABSG on 6 FEBRUARY, 2016. Republished here with permission.) Country: Singapore Community: Malay By: Nurul Fadiah Johari I have a memory of my little sister going through circumcision. It is all vague to me now. I was 4, and she was a baby. I only remember being brought over to the house […]
‘My mom regrets that she allowed khatna to be performed on me’
Age: 34 Country: USA I was six years old when my mom explained to me that I had to undergo the procedure of khatna – that a small surgery would happen on my private parts. I simply understood that it was one of the many rituals that I, as a Muslim girl, would experience. So […]
Let’s Talk About “Sunat Perempuan”
(Originally Posted by BEYONDHIJABSG on 2 FEBRUARY, 2016. Republished here with permission). Country: Singapore Community: Malay By: Afiqa Ab Rahman Recently I attended a workshop where participants from Singapore, Malaysia, India, and Thailand shared their experiences and discussed Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Variations of the term include Female Genital Cutting (FGC) […]
A Kenyan Woman’s Take on FGM/FGC in the Bohra Community
By: Zarina Patel Country of Residence: Kenya Age: 81 years I only very recently heard a fleeting mention of FGM being practiced in the Bohra Community in my country, Kenya. It was in a group conversation where I was adamantly protesting against the FGM still being inflicted on Kenyan women in spite […]
‘I am not traumatized or damaged, but I still want Khatna to stop’
By AnonymousAge: 30Country: United StatesFor the record, I have never been mutilated. I am not traumatized, damaged, or broken. Yes, something unfortunate happened to me that I wish had not; but I do not want to be labeled a survivor. Personally, I feel the word is inappropriate to my situation because my life was never […]