Sahiyo participates in 2017 Hilton Humanitarian Foundation Symposium
On October 11th, Mariya was invited to take part in the 2017 Hilton Humanitarian Foundation Symposium. Mariya, along with Tostan’s founder Molly Melching, and Safe Hands for Girl’s’ Jaha Dukureh, was on a panel titled “Empowering the Silent to Speak, Engaging Communities to Respond”, to discuss FGC and the work being done to end it. […]
Working Together To Address FGC: Michigan Roundtable
On October 9th, Sahiyo, along with Equality Now, Tahirih Justice Center, and forma came together in a roundtable discussion with Michigan’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to engage in cross-discipline dialogue on the challenges and best practices regarding how to respond to FGC in the United States. The roundtable discussion helped attendees to […]
Sahiyo’s Mariya Taher receives Survivor Activist Award
On Saturday, October 2, the Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation recognized Sahiyo Cofounder, Mariya Taher with the Survivor Activist Award at their annual 5K Walk to End FGM Charity Event in Washington DC. Mariya along with eight other deserving women and men were given Recognition Awards for the outstanding work toward ending female genital cutting and […]
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 […]