Unspoken
By Naima Dido I wish I could finally say to you the words stuck in my throat, Behind my teeth and scattered on my tongue, With you, I live on eggshells, I don’t know how to tell you that I noticed that your days were filled with half-veiled insults, I was praised serving tea the […]
Survivor: Why labia elongation is female genital mutilation
February 6th marks the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting. By Jenny Cordle When Comfort Dudzai was 9 years old, her father’s two sisters and her nanny took her and her cousins to her family’s rural home in Chipinge, in the eastern highlands of Zimbabwe outside of Harare. In six long weeks […]
Voices Series: Survivors are more than their stories
This blog is part of a series of reflective essays by participants of the Voices to End FGM/C workshops run by Sahiyo and StoryCenter. Through residential and online workshops on digital storytelling, Voices to End FGM/C enables those who have been affected by female genital mutilation/cutting to tell their stories through their own perspectives, in their own words. By Maryum Saifee […]
On the path to healing: My journey after experiencing female genital cutting
By Anonymous Country of Residence: United States Every woman that has been cut has a story to tell. I tell my story not to offer a universal account of female genital cutting (FGC), but one that is specific to me. At a young age, I underwent Type II female genital cutting, known specifically as “taharah” […]
The complexities of female genital cutting in Singapore: Part IV
Concluding thoughts on the practice in Singapore By Saza Faradilla Country of Residence: Singapore This blog post is the fourth in a four-part series about female genital cutting (FGC) in Singapore. This fourth installment provides a final analysis and concrete methods of engaging with discourses on FGC at the individual, community, governmental and international levels. […]
My mother thought she was saving me with khafz
Photo Courtesy Of Kristin De Soto on Pexels.com By Rashida I can recall with crystal clear memory my mother taking me at around age 7 to a dilapidated old Chawl style building in a Bohra Mohalla in Bhendi Bazaar. My mom wore a dark orange saree with a green, white and light orange geometrical design. […]
Discovering female genital cutting in my community
By Mariam Sabir Country of Residence: United States With so many issues in the world that need to be addressed, we have to pick and choose our battles, whether it may be poverty, education, inequality, or gender violence. The majority of people choose something that they can most relate to via personal or cultural experiences. […]
I still don’t get why my mom took me there: A Bohra survivor of female genital cutting speaks out
Photo Courtesy Of luizclas on Pexels.com By Anonymous Country of Residence: India Age: 31 Many communities across the world continue to practice female genital mutilation (FGM). In India, it’s mainly the Bohras, a sub-sect of Shias who practice FGM, also known as khatna. The clitoris and/or labia of little girls is cut or mutilated with […]
My experience at the Sahiyo U.S. Activist Retreat made me reflect on my khatna
By Anonymous Country of Residence: United States Age: 45 years old I often wondered what the two women closest to me thought about khatna. I wondered because I never really talked with my sister or my mom about it. Well, we talked, but not with much purpose. I thought they were against it, just like […]
Survivor of Mumbai: Plight to End Female Genital Cutting
By Brionna Wiggins (An alias was provided to protect the survivor’s identity and family.) There was once a girl who was seven-years-old in Mumbai, India. She and her mother visited a woman so that she could have her “khatna” done. Her mother was an educated woman and later a principal of a school. Today, she […]