Sahiyo Storycenter Workshop: The Power of Storytelling
By Zehra PatwaShame. Deceit. Confusion. On the first day, sitting around a large table in a light-filled room in the StoryCenter workshop space in Berkeley, California, these words were repeated over and over again by each woman sharing her story of being cut as a young girl. And in most cases, the story was disturbingly similar: a […]
Let there be no more victims like me
By AnonymousCountry: Sri Lanka I am a victim of Female Genital Cutting – some might want to call it circumcision, I call it Mutilation. Not quite the way that the proponents want to depict it as what always happens in Africa (infibulation) with horrific scars, but in the way, it happened to me in Sri […]
A Tradition That Branded Me
By Severina LemachokotiI chose to tell this particular story about my experience with Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) because the story defines me, who I am, and shows what my culture/tradition branded me with. The story reflects the reality of what I went through and what I felt as a little girl. This is my other […]
Sharing My Story of Female Genital Cutting with Other Survivors Comforted Me
By Leena KhandwalaI chose to tell my story of FGC to highlight how after more than three decades, my experience of being cut is still traumatizing and vivid. Everything about it — from the deception leading up to it and the silence around it — make for an unspeakably horrifying experience.Supporters of Female Genital Cutting […]
Sahiyo Stories – Women in the U.S. Share Stories on Female Genital Cutting
Sahiyo is excited to announce the launch of our digital story project: Sahiyo Stories! The project brought together nine women from across the United States to create personalized digital stories that narrate the experience of undergoing female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and/or the experience of their advocacy work to end this form of gender violence. It […]
Why I Chose to Tell My Story About Female Genital Mutilation at the Sahiyo Stories’ Workshop
By Renee Bergstrom, EdDI chose to tell my story of FGM because I am aware that being silenced is a universal issue for those who have experienced it. When I read my story the first day at the StoryCenter, I was surprised that my voice cracked with emotion. Our sisterhood developed quickly from the strength of […]
The subject was heavy, but my heart felt light: My experience at Sahiyo’s StoryCenter workshop
By Salma QamruddinFemale genital cutting (FGC) sounds like a distant and antiquated practice, especially to those living in the US. Americans think FGC happens in remote African villages or in times of yore, but not locally and not now. Unfortunately, this is simply untrue. Sahiyo is an organization dedicated to opening up the conversation around modern FGC practices. Their […]
To All of You Extraordinary Women Who Survived Female Genital Mutilation, You Are Strong
By: Nada QamberCountry: Kingdom of Bahrain The day I heard about Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), my jaw dropped. A friend of mine who has grown to become one my closest friends was a victim of this practice. When she told me, my heart broke. I never thought that any culture could do that to their […]
I Said It Loudly: I am an FGM Survivor. Meeting FGM Survivors for the First Time Was My Cursed Blessing
(Note: The following blog was written by a survivor who attended a meeting, the topic of which was on mental health and FGC. Her story highlights the power of storytelling and how it helps break the isolation that many survivors experience in having undergone FGC and dealing with their trauma afterwards, an isolation that Sahiyo […]
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 […]