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 …
Continue reading Survivor of Mumbai: Plight to End Female Genital Cutting
Brionna is currently a high school senior in the District of Columbia. She likes drawing, helping others, and being able to contribute to great causes.
By Leena Khandwala I chose to tell my story of FGC to highlight how after more than three decades, my experience of being cut is still traumatizing and vivid. Everything about it — from the deception leading up to it and the silence around it — make for an unspeakably horrifying experience. Supporters of Female …
Continue reading Sharing My Story of Female Genital Cutting with Other Survivors Comforted Me
By Hina Javed (This is the second part in a series of essays by Hina Javed on her experience of reporting on FGC in Pakistan. Read the whole series here: Pakistan Journal.) That night, after witnessing truth being replaced with the censor’s lie, I spent hours alone in my room, flinching at every little thought …
Continue reading The unsolved riddle: conversations with survivors (Part 2)
From September 29 to October 1, at a unique convention held in Tunisia, more than a dozen progressive Muslim organisations from around the world came together to create a new global movement: the Alliance of Inclusive Muslims, or AIM for short. AIM and its founding conference were spearheaded by Muslims for Progressive Values, a transnational …
Continue reading Sahiyo to be a part of a new global movement for progressive Muslims
(To sign petition, click here) End Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting by 2030: Invest in Research, and Support in Asia According to the United Nations, at least 200 million women in 30 countries have been subjected to Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C). However, these statistics are largely restricted to sub-Saharan Africa and ignore the global scope of the issue. In …
by Keire Murphy and Cleo Egli An exciting new research project is being undertaken in Mumbai and its environs this summer which hopes to bring a new perspective to the international discussion of khatna. The project, which is a cultural study on khatna, the Bohra community, and the current activist movement against the practice, is …
Continue reading Announcement: A new research project on Khatna in Mumbai
Sahiyo co-founder Shaheeda Tavawalla-Kirtane talks to Shabnam Muqbil and her husband, Koen Van den Brande, who give us an introduction to the Suleimanis and throw light on the practice of ‘khatna’ amongst their community. Shaheeda: Please share with us the history of the Suleimanis and where they come from? Shabnam: The Suleimani Bohras (Suleimanis) are …
Continue reading A conversation on Khatna with Suleimani Bohras
In December 2015, Speak Out on FGM – a collective of Bohra khatna survivors – launched a signature petition on Change.org, appealing to various ministers in the Indian government to end Female Genital Cutting (khatna) in India. It was the first time that 17 Bohra women had publicly come out, as signatories, to speak against …
Continue reading Speak Out on FGM petition to the UN collects more than 500 signatures
(TO READ AND SIGN THE PETITION, CLICK HERE) According to the United Nations, at least 200 million women in 30 countries have been subjected to Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C). However, these statistics are largely restricted to sub-Saharan Africa and ignore the global scope of the issue. Indonesia, where half the girls under age 11 have undergone FGC, …
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