On May 10th, Sahiyo presented at the 12th Annual Massachusetts Children’s Alliance Conference. In attendance were over 200 multidisciplinary child abuse professionals from across the state. Sahiyo cofounder, Mariya Taher, partnered with Mildrine Tulysse, a Massachusetts Pediatric Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner, to provide information about the realities of female genital cutting (FGC) in the state of Massachusetts. The training they provided was done to increase education and awareness of FGC within the United States, provide resources to better understand how to give high-quality care to survivors; and empower frontline professionals to develop culturally competent and trauma-informed services and resources to survivors of FGC. 

This March, Sahiyo conducted its first ever Sahiyo Youth Meeting. Young activists are an essential part of the movement to end FGC, as they offer a fresh perspective and are eager to challenge gender norms and harmful cultural practices. Acknowledging this, volunteer Hunter Kessous started an initiative to create a supportive network of Sahiyo youth. At the first meeting, staff, interns and volunteers between the ages of 15 and 24 came together to discuss their journeys in working to end FGC and future aspirations. Additionally, the Sahiyo members decided on some goals for our new network, including a learning environment, an emotional support space, and an opportunity to find mentors. Strengthening the connections amongst Sahiyo's youth activists is a step towards forging the path for the next generation of leaders in the movement to end FGC. The Sahiyo Youth Meetings will become a monthly tradition for any Sahiyo members looking for an educational and inspirational community of young leaders.

On April 28th, Sahiyo was invited to take part in a panel discussion at the 2022 ABA International Law Section's Annual Conference being held in Washington D.C. The panel brought together a legal practitioner, journalist, and activist working towards gender equality and the elimination of FGC to discuss legal tools and other measures that have been adopted to end this practice worldwide.

Program Chair:  

Sandrine Siewe, Georgetown Law, Washington, DC  

Moderator:  

Bayor Chantal Ngoltoingar, Anti FGM Advocate

Speakers:  

Isabella Micali Drossos, Senior Counsel, World Bank

Shelby Quast, Robertson, Quast & Associates, US End FGM/C Network

Giselle Portenier, Journalist, End FGM Canada Network

Mariya Taher, Cofounder, Sahiyo, US End FGM/C Network

During the event, speakers introduced the World Bank's Fifth edition of the Compendium of International and National Legal Frameworks. The speakers also highlighted Federal- and state-level policy and law around FGC in the United States, and spoke to measures and programs that can help those impacted by FGC recover from the harms caused by this practice. Moreover, the panelists discussed the role of a bottom-up-oriented strategy, such as active and intergenerational dialogues within communities, for finding solutions to end FGC.

On February 28th, Councilmember Charles Allen, Chairperson of the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety, convened a public hearing to consider Washington DC District Bill 24-0516, the “Female Genital Mutilation Prohibition Act of 2021.” The stated purpose of the “Female Genital Mutilation Prohibition Act of 2021” is to prohibit the female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) of a person under care, to expand mandated reporting requirements to include FGM/C, and to provide for a civil action for FGM/C. As the hearing was conducting virtually, advocates working to end FGM/C across the country joined in to provide expert testimony on the topic. 

To learn more about the bill, visit here. To keep up to date with tracking of the bill, visit here.

On March 24th, 2022 Sahiyo hosted an inaugural training on female genital cutting (FGC) for Asian Women’s Shelter staff and their crisis line counselors who operate their hotline for have undergone or experienced domestic violence or sexual assault. This training created by Sahiyo provided a basic overview of FGC, including what it is, who it occurs to, why it occurs, and the negative health and social repercussions connected to FGC. Additionally, how FGC impacts communities in the United States was examined and discussed.

This training is part of a larger Sahiyo initiative to integrate knowledge of FGC into larger gender-based violence prevention services across the United States to better support survivors of female genital cutting. To learn more about the project, visit here.

On March 5th, in the run up to International Women's Day, Sahiyo India was invited to hold a guest lecture on female fenital cutting (FGC) for first-year students of Mumbai's BMN Women's College of Home Science; this screening was held in association with Muse Foundation. Sahiyo co-founder Aarefa Johari conducted the online session, which had over 50 student attendees. 

The session began with the screening of two short films from Sahiyo and StoryCentre's Voices to End FGM/C series: Why by Fakhera, and A Chorus of Voices by Aarefa. The lecture then helped students understand what FGC is, why it is practiced, how it is harmful, and what can be done to end the practice. Aarefa also explored the concept of social norms and why they persist. Students were then invited to talk about the harmful social norms prevalent in their own cultures and homes, including menstrual taboos, which nearly every young woman in the class had experienced. 

This was the second time that Sahiyo India has given a guest lecture on FGC at the BMN College. 

Zahra is a 4th year medical student at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut. She is interested in the role of health care providers in caring for those affected by the practice, and as such is involved with developing training for resident physicians on surgical care that improves quality of life and health outcomes in the most severe forms of FGM/C. She has also designed and implemented curriculum that introduces physicians in training to the cultural nuances surrounding FGM/C with the goal of increasing cultural humility. Zahra has been involved with Sahiyo since 2019, assisting on projects focused on community engagement as a tool to bring an end to FGM/C.

When and how did you first get involved with Sahiyo?

I have been following Sahiyo’s work as an organization for many years, but decided to get involved in the fall of 2019 during what was a rough patch in my personal life for a few reasons, khatna, or FGM/C, being one of them. 

Why did you choose to join the Advisory Board and what do you hope to bring to Sahiyo through this new role?

I chose to join the Advisory Board to make more meaningful connections with all of the incredible people who work with Sahiyo, and in hopes of supporting projects in the pipeline at Sahiyo. As a member of the Board, I’d like to contribute the expertise I have and will gain as I progress through the next phase of medical training, and look for more ways to incorporate training on FGM/C and survivor support into health professions training.

What does your work with Sahiyo involve?

As a volunteer, I have written pieces interpreting research on FGM/C, as well as abstracts and posters in order to disseminate Sahiyo’s work to healthcare providers, survivors, social works, and law enforcement, among other groups. I also support The Connecticut Coalition to End FGM/C by giving presentations about the practice to stake holders with the goal of introducing legislation in the state of Connecticut that addresses FGM/C. Additionally, I have created and implemented a curriculum that introduces medical students to the cultural nuances surrounding the practice, and am involved in creating a provider training for family medicine and obstetrics and gynecology resident physicians.

How has your involvement with Sahiyo impacted your life?

As someone who grew up in a community where FGC was the norm, my involvement with Sahiyo has been an integral part to self-actualization and healing. I joined Sahiyo at a time where I desperately needed allies who understood my personal struggles with FGC. Since joining, I have been able to use my personal experiences and integrate them with work that will positively impact my career as a healthcare professional. 

What words of wisdom would you like to share with others who may be interested in supporting Sahiyo and the movement against FGC?

Sahiyo has taught me that joining a community of peers that are just like you, that have been impacted by the same circumstances you have, can be healing in so many ways. Using experiences that are deeply personal to you in order to make change in the world, no matter how small, is liberating. I encourage anyone who is looking to feel such liberation to support Sahiyo in their goal to end FGC.

By Urvashi Sharma

In an article written by bioethicist and philosopher Brian D. Earp, he comments on the argument presented by Richard Shweder that childhood female genital cutting (FGC) should be legalized in order to balance acceptance of childhood male genital cutting (circumcision) in many communities. In contrast to Shweder’s argument, Earp believes male and female circumcisions that are medically unnecessary, and performed without consent, should be “opposed equally on moral and legal grounds and discouraged by all appropriate means.” The solution to this imbalance? A gender-inclusive opposition to genital cutting. 

Firstly, on the subject of gender imbalance, I believe there will always be one. From the first time that I learned about FGC and what it meant, I always wondered if it was similar for males. I read page after page about how there is so much more sensory tissue in the clitoris; there are so many more health risks, so many more types, and so much more pain. I read about the religious reasons behind male circumcision and the oppressive reasons behind FGC. Yes, there are religious reasons behind the carrying out of FGC as well; it’s just that the oppressive reasons layered behind the doctrine of religion for why FGC is done hold more of my attention. The fact that it is a female-specific reason holds more of my attention. By female-specific I mean that it is an attribute of being female itself- feeling pleasure is sinful, sex is almost like a service to a man in which the female and her needs are secondary etc. 

I often wondered (and still do) about how-and why- these practices are lumped together like they are the same thing. Different anatomy, different reasons, and different agendas cannot be clumped together under a single umbrella, as though they are the one and the same. To me, this is not an apples to apples comparison. 

A phrase that Earp frequently uses in his article is “non-consensual.” That stuck with me because ever since I learned about FGC, I never thought about it like that. I associated FGC with words like “violation” and “autonomy” and “fundamental rights”, but I never outrightly asked that simple question of consent. I believe Earp makes an important point. He skillfully avoids interfering in cultural reasoning behind genital cutting to stick to the issue of consent and minors. 

I agree with Earp’s argument that the solution cannot be regression in the form of legalization of FGC. I believe that one of the major problems of the subject of circumcision is its nature itself. A practice with cultural influences, gender-based influences, race-related influences and socioeconomic influences (to name a few) cannot be tackled easily at all. 

Are either FGC or male circumcision consensual? Can this individual, most often a child, make decisions using their own judgment? And that’s an important place to start, really. Yes, I feel FGC is incomparable to male circumcision in the sense of bodily impact due to the simple fact of different anatomy; however, starting at the root- the root of consent- is vital. 

Both of these practices are non-consensual when they occur to children who are not old enough to give consent. Can you ask your eight-day old baby if he is okay with undergoing circumcision and carrying on your customs and values? Can you ask your five-year old daughter if she is okay with getting her clitoris cut as a cure for her masturbation? 

And is the question really about whether these practices are medically beneficial or not? Following this logic, the justification for carrying out this practice is the fact that it will have some medical benefits: let’s cut a part of your body because in the long run, you will be healthier. I don’t understand that argument. 

Unless it is absolutely necessary (medically) for this part of the body to be removed to be healthier, I see no reason why the question of consent should be ignored in this decision-making process that concerns bodily autonomy. I see no reason why FGC should be legalized for young girls just to bridge the so-called equality gap. 

Make it equal by allowing FGC and reversing the progress that has been made to try to end FGC, Richard Shweder is essentially saying. But we cannot go back, not in any way. Forward, until the end of this harmful practice entirely, is the only way to go.