Looking from the Outside-In: Initial Perceptions of Female Genital Cutting
By Batoul Saleh A campaign event for Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar and former Michigan rep. Rashida Tlaib was disrupted on August 11 by Laura Loomer, a conservative media personality. Invading the event, Loomer claimed that Omar, a Somali-American, supported Female Genital Cutting/Mutilation (FGC/M), along with other accusations about her African culture and background, essentially questioning […]
Donate to Sahiyo U.S.
Donate Now and Protect the Next Generation of Women from Female Genital Cutting. By supporting our U.S. storytelling initiatives, you ensure that survivors’ voices are heard. And that we continue to work towards the abandonment of female genital cutting (FGC) for future generations of girls. For every $50 donated, we can support and train another […]
Why I co-hosted a Sahiyo ‘Thaal pe Charcha’ lunch in New York
By Alifya Sulemanji I had been hearing about Thaal pe Charcha (TPC), an event organized by Sahiyo, on a regular basis in Bombay India and it seemed like a very interesting concept to me. I felt inspired to host one at my home and bring together New York Bohra women for such an event. I […]
U.S. Advisory Board
Alisha Bhagat, Sahiyo U.S. Advisory Board Chair, is a futurist and senior strategist whose work focuses on the creative use of futures tools to impact long term positive change, particularly around social justice and equality. She currently works at the nonprofit, Forum for the Future, and her work utilizes foresight methods such as systems mapping, […]
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 […]
Khatna Isn’t Black Or White, Just Like My Story
By AnonymousCountry of Residence: United StatesFemale Genital Cutting/Mutilation in the Bohra community is not black and white, just like how survivors and non-survivors’ stories are not black and white. This idea resonated the most with me during the Sahiyo Stories workshop held in Berkeley, California at the beginning of May. Sahiyo Stories allowed me to explore the […]
Why Won’t Massachusetts Pass A Law Against Female Genital Cutting?
Today, FGM/C is banned under federal law, yet, only 26 states in the U.S. have laws against it. Massachusetts is not one of them. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, it is estimated that over half a million girls and women in the United States are at risk. Massachusetts ranks 12th in […]
Sahiyo Volunteer nominated for The Global Woman Student Ambassador Award
Sahiyo’s Maria Akhter has been nominated to receive the Global Woman Award in the “Student Ambassador” category, on Friday, October 26, 2018, in Washington, D.C. The awards are given by the Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation to people who do a great deal to protect girls and women from various types of violence, including FGC. The […]
Penn State Law School Host Conference on Female Genital Cutting
On April 12-13th, the Dickinson Law’s FGM Legislation Project hosted a conference, “Crafting Legislative and Medical Solutions to Address Female Genital Mutilation Locally and Internationally,” at Dickinson Law. This conference aimed to educate the public, lawyers and medical professionals about the legal, social, psychological and medical consequences of FGC. Experts and practitioners gathered to address […]
My inner healing at Sahiyo’s Activist Retreat in the U.S.
By Anonymous Country: United StatesAge: 34 To be honest, it was hard for me to make the decision to go to the Sahiyo Activist Retreat earlier this year. I grew up in the Dawoodi Bohra community in India, and having had my share of challenges with the community that involved threats to my family, I […]