ખત્ના: એક માતાની વ્યથા અને એક પુત્રની દુષ્કર્મનો બદલો લેવા માટેની શોધ
લેખક : અનામી વય ૩૧ વર્ષ દેશ : અમેરિકા મારી માતા ખુદાના બંદા અને દ્રઢ ધાર્મિક માન્યતા વાળા છે. દાઉદી બોહરા સમુદાયના જન્મજાત ધર્મગુરુને માનવાવાળો, તેમણે કદી પણ તેનો હિસ્સો બની રહેવાથી ક્યારેય આનાકાની નથી કર્યાં. ઝળહળતા, રંગબેરંગી હિજરી કૅલેન્ડર આધારિત દરેક પ્રસંગોમાં તેઓ અચૂક હાજરી આપે છે. દાયકાઓથી, આ હિજરી કૅલેન્ડરે, દરગુજર કરી નહીં […]
StoryCenter-A digital storytelling workshop for Bohra women in the United States
By Mariya Taher For the past decade, I have advocated against female genital mutiliation/cutting (FGM/C) by sharing my story, and by helping other women to share their own stories of undergoing FGC. My story has received attention from several media sources like NPR, USA Today, and ABC News (read Because I was Harmed on NPR Codeswitch). In […]
‘Far from enhancing my marital bliss, khatna had all but devastated it’
by: Anonymous Age: 30 Country: United States I first learned that khatna had been performed on me when I was 11 years old. My mother told me, and even then the hair on my neck rose and I had a clear instinct that what had happened wasn’t right. I asked my mother why Bohra girls […]
U.S. Muslim Leaders Stance on FGM/C (also known as Female Circumcision)
(Originally document can be found here. Republished with permission on 6/7/2017)We, Muslim organizations, FGM/C Survivors, Islamic scholars, and leaders, strongly condemn the remarks made in the video of Imam Shaker El Sayed where he clearly distinguishes between Female Genital Mutilation or Cutting (FGM/C) and female circumcision, and recommends the performance of female circumcision on young girls “when needed” to […]
FGM before the Indian Supreme Court
By: Koen Van den Brande Age: 55Country: India It was to be expected… The Indian Supreme Court has been asked to look at the practice of ‘khatna’ – commonly known as FGM (Female Genital Mutilation) as a result of a Public Interest Litigation filed by Sunita Tiwari, a Delhi based advocate. There was a time, […]
Despite backlash, Sahiyo will continue to work with the community
The World Health Organization (WHO)’s guidelines on the management of health complications from female genital mutilation/cutting states that the “involvement of health-care providers in performing FGM is likely to confer a sense of legitimacy on the practice and could give the impression that the procedure is good for women’s health, or at least that it […]
Why do Dawoodi Bohras practice Khatna, or Female Genital Cutting?
by Aarefa Johari What is the real purpose behind Khatna for girls? The Dawoodi Bohra community has been practicing this hidden ritual of female circumcision, also known as Female Genital Cutting (FGC), for centuries, with no public discussion on its need. It is only in the past year that the Bohra leadership has finally spoken […]
The Detroit doctor arrests are an opportunity to talk about Khatna
By: Anonymous Age: 33Country: Pune, India Even though I clearly remember when ‘khatna’ was performed on me, it wasn’t until I was a teenager that I first started to question this practice within the Dawoodi Bohra community. It always felt wrong, but if my mother, sister, and seemingly everyone else in the community embraced it, […]
A letter to Syedna, by a Bohra woman
(Editor’s note – The courageous woman who shared this letter would like it to be known that sahiyo’s platform was the official outlet for her letter.) By: Anonymous Country of Residence: United States To Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin, We are the ones who showed up. We are the ones who wore the right thing, said the […]
FGM and the myth of modernity among Dawoodi Bohras
By: Anonymous Age: 33Country of birth: IndiaCountry of current residence: USA I am a male born into a Dawoodi Bohra family. My brother and I had remarkably normal upbringings in the United States. We were members of one of the more secular congregations in the in the US. My parents always pointed out to me […]