Reflecting on the New England Sex Education Conference
By: Olivia Harris On May 27th, 2026, the HOPE MA team presented a workshop titled “Introduction to Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) for Health Educators” at the New England Sex Education Conference (NESEC), a regional gathering bringing together health educators, school-based practitioners, and community-based advocates from across the region. The 60-minute workshop drew a diverse audience […]
Beyond Statistics: Reflections on the Retreat
Between May 13th and 17th, Sahiyo, Equality Now, and The U.S. End FGM/C Network hosted a convening of FGM/C survivors, advocates, policy experts, and LGBTQIA+ allies at a retreat center in the Adirondack Mountains Participants gathered to hold conversations centered on building shared understanding and strategic messaging around bodily autonomy, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C), gender-affirming […]
Survival Is a Group Project
By Lubaina Plumber The Massachusetts Women of Color Network held its 9th Annual Conference on May 14 and 15 at Springfield College. I attended as a panelist on behalf of Sahiyo. The theme this year, Survival Is a Group Project, drew its framing from the tradition of mutual aid and collective care, and the program […]
Conference on Gender, Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting, and Harmful Conflations
Deep in the Adirondacks, a powerhouse group of 14 survivors, advocates, policy experts, and LGBTQIA+ allies gathered with a singular, urgent purpose: to build cross-movement solidarity. From May 13th to 17th, we confronted the dangerous and escalating conflation of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) with gender-affirming care (GAC) in public discourse and legislation—a trend that threatens […]
Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) and Anti-Immigrant Narratives: Why California Needs to Strengthen Its Law on FGM/C
Worldwide, over 230 million women and girls have undergone female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C), and currently, an additional 30 million girls under the age of 15 are at risk worldwide. In the United States, a 2019 estimate stated that FGM/C has impacted 421,000 women and girls, and while most of these women and girls are survivors […]
Policy Update from the Washington Coalition to End FGM/C
Following the 2023 passage of SB 5453, the Washington Coalition to End FGM/C continued working to advance policies that center the dignity, safety, and rights of FGM/C survivors. This year, the coalition led coordinated advocacy in support of SB 6017, the next step in strengthening Washington’s response to FGM/C and making sure survivors can access […]
Sahiyo at CSW70: Survivor-Led, Anti-Racist Advocacy in Action
This March, Sahiyo will participate in multiple events at the 70th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) in New York City, bringing survivor-led perspectives to global conversations on FGM/C, gender-based violence, and bodily autonomy. View the event details below! Dismantling Racism in Anti-FGM/C Movements: Path to Decolonial, Survivor-Led Advocacy This […]
15 States and DC Join Lawsuit Against Trump’s Executive Order Conflating Gender-Affirming Care and FGM/C
By Hiromi Nishida On August 1, 2025, the states of California, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawai‘i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Wisconsin joined in a lawsuit against President Trump’s Executive Order (EO) 14187, “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation”. This EO […]
Why We Must Stop H.R. 3492: Protecting Youth and the Movement Against FGM/C
By: Khushi Prakash Congress is currently considering bill H.R. 3492, the Protect Children’s Innocence Act. At first glance, the bill appears to strengthen protections against female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C). However, in reality, this bill goes far beyond banning FGM/C by redefining gender-affirming healthcare as “genital or bodily mutilation” and “chemical castration”. If passed, this bill […]
Applications open to join the 2023 Voices to End FGM/C hybrid digital storytelling workshop cohort!
Sahiyo U.S., StoryCenter, and Asian Women’s Shelter would like to announce that recruitment is open for our 2023 Voices to End FGM/C hybrid digital storytelling workshop. Since 2015, Sahiyo has provided various storytelling platforms for survivors and community members around the world to share their experiences of female genital cutting (FGC); in particular, Voices to […]