On October 22nd, the Biden-Harris Administration issued the first-ever national gender strategy to advance the full participation of all people – including women and girls – in the United States and around the world. The National Strategy on Gender Equity and Equality incorporates female genital cutting (FGC) as a form of gender-based violence needing attention, clearly labeling it a “human rights abuse” and planning several courses of action to work towards ending it.
The Strategy recognizes that millions of women and girls are at risk of FGC, and that these human rights abuses occur domestically and abroad, which poses a global security issue. he Administration plans to “collaborate with state officials to prevent and address harmful practices that undermine human rights,” and “work with a broad array of leaders to promote programs that address harmful practices that undermine human rights.” Sahiyo commends the Biden-Harris Administration's important acknowledgement of this harmful practice, and looks forward to seeing how the strategy will be implemented through collaboration with domestic and international leaders to create change.
Starting this October 2021, Sahiyo is officially launching our book club, Sahiyo Discusses, with our inaugural event, Sahiyo Discusses: Seven by Farzana Doctor.
Designed to bring people together through literature, art, and media, this club will host quarterly meetings to bring together activists and allies in Sahiyo’s network to discuss the chosen piece of media. With themes ranging from feminism, equality, bodily autonomy, women-centered movements, and sexual empowerment - this club will focus on uplifting the stories and experiences of women everywhere.
Our first meeting will be held on October 13th, at 8 pm EST over Zoom. We will be joined by Farzana Doctor, who will talk about her novel, Seven.
Seven explores themes of family, culture, politics, and FGM/C with a surprising ending. Sahiyo Discusses members will have the opportunity to discuss the book with Farzana as well as ask pertinent questions.
Admission to Sahiyo Discusses will be on a pay-what-you-can basis, with a recommended suggested $10.00 USD donation per event.
If you or anyone in your network is interested in joining us please register and donate here.
Thank you all for your continued dedication to Sahiyo’s mission, and we look forward to seeing you all there!
On November 1st Sahiyo partnered with The Massachusetts Healthy Youth Consortium (MAHYC) to hold a training for K-12 teachers about the importance of using education as a means of preventing female genital cutting (FGC) and how they can become advocates against this practice. The goal of MAHYC is for educators, health professionals, policymakers, and other advocates to work collaboratively towards helping to pass The Healthy Youth Act which would ensure that comprehensive curricula are taught in public schools that choose to offer sex education. Massachusetts ranks 12th in the nation for at-risk populations, with nearly 15,000 girls at risk, with the largest at-risk areas being Boston, Newton, and Cambridge. FGC is often rooted in secrecy and isolation, and girls at risk are often taught never to speak of what they experienced. Sahiyo believes that education can be a powerful tool to break this silence and bring some clarity to the myths surrounding female genital cutting.
Jo Keogh has been utilizing somatic approaches to treat female trauma survivors since 2014. She is currently completing her internship in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Anna Haven Behavioral Health services, where she specializes in treating adult survivors of child sexual abuse, sexual assault, rape, and domestic violence. Jo’s primary interests include working toward intersectional equity in women’s mental health treatment and evaluating the ways in which individual experiences with trauma and attachment affect societal functioning. Jo is a founding member of both the CT Coalition to End FGM/C and the Guilford Human Rights Commission. She is also a member of Connecticut’s Shoreline Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Taskforce, the Connecticut Counseling Association’s Public Policy and Legislative Committee, and the Connecticut-based Trauma and Gender Learning Collaborative.
Can you tell us a bit about your background?
I am a mental health professional who specializes in treating women’s trauma. My areas of expertise include sexual assault, rape, child sexual abuse, and domestic violence. I strongly believe that trauma is best addressed through a two-pronged approach of providing individual treatment and addressing systemic and intersectional inequity.
When did you first get involved with Sahiyo and what opportunities have you been involved in?
I first became aware of Sahiyo in 2020, when I reached out to Mariya Taher for help with criminalizing FGM/C in Connecticut. I was immediately impressed with her ability to raise awareness around this critically important – and often ignored – issue. The resources and experience that Sahiyo has been able to bring to the table have been gamechangers: the Voices videos have been a particularly potent way to connect the abstract idea of what FGM/C is with the reality of survivor stories.
How has your involvement impacted your life?
Working to find holistic solutions to ending FGM/C has been an incredibly rewarding journey for me. The women dedicated to irradicating this practice are each powerful role models in their own right: intelligent, courageous, warm, and supportive. Working with the women of Sahiyo has helped me to understand the kind of person I want to be in the world.
What pieces of wisdom would you share with new volunteers or community members who are interested in supporting Sahiyo?
Many people are passionate about a variety of issues that impact women’s equality, from reproductive health to domestic violence. Yet FGM/C tends to be left out these conversations. To me, advocating for women means becoming educated around all of the ways that women are harmed, and then doing whatever we can to prevent those harms from occurring. Sahiyo is doing meaningful, survivor-led work around FGM/C, and is changing the lives of women and girls all over the world. Come join us!
On August 19th, 2021, Sahiyo and StoryCenter co-hosted a film screening and panel discussion to highlight voices from the Voices to End FGM/C Digital Storytelling workshop. The event showcased eleven new digital stories, created virtually by a global group of advocates and survivors of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C), during January and February. Lola's transformation of shame to acceptance of her story is stunning to hear.
Mariya Taher of Sahiyo and Amy Hill of StoryCenter, two facilitators of the annual workshop, led an audience Q&A and presented storytelling methodology, while two guest speakers, Nafisa (pseudonym) and Lola Ibrahim (Yoruba, English), shared their experiences with the digital storytelling workshop itself. Of the eleven stories shown, three were premiered at the event and had not been released to the public yet. The full collection can be found here, with stories continuing to be released.
"I feel liberated” Nafisa said. “I feel lighter, and I feel scared all at once. I wanted to talk about this work and khatna and the challenges that are faced in the community for many years.
The 2021 Voices digital collection succeeded tremendously in capturing the core concept of oppressive social norms. Almost reminiscent of short vignettes, each digital story actualized the abstract concept of social norms into concrete experiences. The stories stood individually as personal narratives of struggle, belonging, and community. Comparatively, this collection presented the larger struggles of individuals and collectives in battling gender-based violence.
In response, audience members engaged deeply with each story, typing out messages with empathy and gratitude to each storyteller for taking up the challenge of telling their stories. It was uplifting to see how the digital stories could elicit such reactions of allyship and community-building, even within a Zoom chat.
My personal highlight from the event was hearing Nafisa and Lola reflect on their experiences of storytelling and tackle the nuances of FGM/C in their respective communities. The digital storytelling workshop was evidently transformative, in similar and different ways for each participant.
“Sharing my shame can make a difference,” Lola said. “You understand that. Because you own that story. And you’re able to tell the story. So you’re no longer ashamed.”
Lola’s transformation of shame to acceptance of her story is stunning to hear. Through the workshop, she found a close-knit community to listen and empathize with her story. By producing a digital story, she now engages a global community to respond to her story.
“I felt powerless because in the world that we live in, when you're anonymous, you feel like your voice is taken away,” said Nafisa. “You don't have an identity, but I think sharing my story has allowed me to have a voice or has created a space for me. It has put the power back in my hands.”
Nafisa’s story is equally hopeful. Despite her anonymity, Nafisa proudly holds ownership of her story and continues to advocate against FGM/C.
Sahiyo is excited to announce the upcoming 2022 Voices to End FGM/C digital storytelling workshop, as part of their continued partnership with StoryCenter. This workshop is open to all individuals who have a story to share about how they, or someone they know, have been impacted by FGC, and will be held virtually.
For those interested in taking part, please fill out the application by Friday, December 11, 2021.
It is with great sadness and disappointment that Sahiyo responds to the recent judgement in the Michigan case. Female genital cutting (FGC) is recognized internationally, and specifically by the U.S. Government as a violation of human rights. Judge Friedman’s decision to throw out this case, which is the nation’s first FGC case, highlights a failure to protect girls in the United States from this harmful practice, and a failure to truly understand the extent and pervasiveness of FGC within this country. (See the Amicus Brief, which is informed by survivors of the same community as the girls in this case, and provides details on these aspects of FGC for the judge).
This judgment has been met by much criticism already, with a call from The US End FGM/C Network for more training across all branches of government, including judicial training that includes: what FGM/C is, how it is carried out, and its life-long impact on women and girls.
Sahiyo believes we cannot allow harmful practices such as FGC to continue. Girls' rights cannot go unprotected due to legal technicalities and decisions made by those who do not, or refuse to, understand the realities of gender-based violence.
We must all work together to protect ALL girls from this harm and we call on the Department of Justice to appeal this decision.
Background on the case
On April 13, 2017, Detroit emergency room doctor Jumana Nargarwala was arrested and charged with performing FGC on minor girls in the United States. This was the first time someone was brought up on charges under 18 U.S.C. 116, which criminalizes FGC. According to the U.S. Federal complaint, Dr. Nagarwala performed FGC on 6 to 8 year old girls out of a medical office in Livonia, Michigan. Some of these girls’ families reportedly traveled inter-state to have the doctor perform FGC.
On November 20, 2018, Judge Bernard Friedman ruled that the US Federal Law banning Female Genital Cutting was unconstitutional based on a technicality. With this ruling, the judge dismissed key charges of FGC against two Michigan doctors and six other people accused of practicing genital cutting on several minor girls.
The ruling was determined by Judge Friedman’s stance that the crime of FGC should be regulated by individual states. However, the US does not actually have laws against FGC in every single state. At the time, only 27 out of 50 states had a state law banning FGC. As of October 2021, there are now 40 states with a state law. There is a state law in Michigan banning FGC, but the law only came into effect in 2017 after the federal case involving Dr. Nagarwala and Dr. Attar came to light. The doctors cannot be prosecuted retrospectively under this Michigan state law.
After Judge Friedman’s verdict in 2018, the Department of Justice failed to appeal Judge Friedman's decisions in 2019. As a result, Congress filed a motion to appeal the decision, but the motion was denied. In 2020, these events led Congress to unanimously amend and strengthen the Federal FGC law, in order to withstand future challenges, while firmly stating its disagreement with Judge Freidman's interpretation of the law. In January of 2021, Congress passed the H.R. 6100-STOP FGM Act. (((To learn more about the history of this court case and legislation in the U.S., read CoP Law & FGM - Legislation in North America.)
However, the combination of Judge Friedman's recent decision in September 2021 dismissing the remaining charges against Doctor Nargarwala (and calling the prosecution ‘vindictive’ for seeking new charges), with the Department of Justice’s original decision in 2019 to not appeal his decision, underscores how protecting girls from violence was not central to the case.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 65th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) meetings took place virtually March 15-26, with thousands of individuals from civil society from across the globe taking part to collaborate and connect with each other on the pressing issues of our times and the progress we have made toward achieving gender equity and equality.
Every year the NGO CSW/NY organizes the civil society side of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. The NGO CSW Forum runs parallel to the official session taking place at the U.N. Headquarters. This provides civil society the opportunity to engage in the processes and CSW sessions without ECOSOC-accreditation or a U.N. grounds pass.
This year, Sahiyo co-hosted, organized, and was a speaker at the following parallel sessions:
March 16th
Using Storytelling to Shift Social Norms and Prevent FGM/C
Sponsored by Sahiyo & StoryCenter
Sahiyo and StoryCenter introduced their collaborative Voices to End FGM/C project, which centers on storytelling by survivors and those affected by female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) as a tool to challenge social norms that perpetuate the practice. Using a combination of didactic presentation, audience participation, and short videos, the presentation explored the theoretical underpinnings of the Voices Project, highlighted the success of our digital storytelling workshops, and shared how the project has supported women in their healing journey and furthered efforts to prevent future generations of girls from enduring this form of gender-based violence.
Read a recap of the event here. View the event here.
March 19th
The Power of Digital Media and Achieving Gender Equality
Sponsored by Muslim American Leadership Alliance (MALA)
Digital media has been a powerful resource toward achieving gender equality. It has been integral in raising awareness for issues pertaining to gender-based violence; equity and equality in social communities; and economic participation for women. It also has been a resource to provide financial literacy and economic opportunities for women on a global scale.
This panel convened nonprofits, corporations, digital media experts, and activists to bring forth a comprehensive dialogue on how current and future digital/social media tools can further accelerate the realization of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. CSW 65 theme is an assessment of current challenges that affect the implementation of the Platform for Action and the achievement of gender equality, and the empowerment of women, and its contribution towards the full realization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. View the event here.
Panelists:
Mariya Taher | Co-founder, Sahiyo
Sali Mahgoub | Deputy Director at Obama Foundation
Holly Weckler | Developer Innovation Lead at Synctera
March 23rd
Amplifying The Voices On Ending Female Genital Mutilation
Sponsored by Soroptimist International
Co-sponsored by North American/European Caucus
This event addressed violence against girls, focusing on female genital mutilation/cutting in North America, Europe and beyond which hinders women from achieving gender equality and empowerment. Various aspects of this issue were addressed by experts and survivors who work to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and end all forms of violence against women. Furthermore, it addressed the lifetime trauma FGM/C has on victims’ wellbeing and the effect of COVID-19 on the lived experiences of the girls and women in relation to FGM/C. View the event here.
March 24th
Partnerships to Accelerate Global Action to End FGM/C by 2030
Sponsored by Global Platform for Action to End FGM/C
When the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action was adopted, estimates suggested that 133 million girls and women had experienced female genital mutilation/cutting in Africa alone. With improved data, estimates now suggest 200 million girls and women globally have been affected. If action to end FGM/C is not accelerated, an estimated 68 million girls will be cut by 2030. The COVID-19 has further impacted progress towards abandonment of FGM/C. Hearing first-hand from grassroots activists and survivors, this session explored models of success from specific communities across different continents that have led to sustained reductions in FGM/C prevalence and have the potential to accelerate progress through broader adoption. The Global Platform for Action to End FGM/C, an international group of organizations advocating to stop FGM/C, of which Sahiyo is a founding member.
Read the reflection blog post here. View the event here.
