Sahiyo U.S. would like to thank our friends at Ben & Jerry’s Foundation for a core support grant award of $20,000 per year for two years. Ben & Jerry’s Foundation supports grassroots groups throughout the U.S. and its territories that are led by the people most impacted by the legacies of white supremacy culture, as they organize for racial equity and social and environmental justice. They center the leadership and collective action of Black communities, Indigenous communities, and communities of color in their efforts to build movements to dismantle oppressive and discriminatory systems toward a more just and inclusive world.

These funds will help Sahiyo specifically by strengthening the network of community-based anti-female genital cutting (FGC) advocates leading prevention and policy campaigns in the movement to end FGC in the U.S.; continuing to build FGC survivor and community-driven state coalitions who advocate for policy in states that don’t yet have laws to address FGC; and expanding on our original Critical Intersections work, forming partnerships with allied social justice movements and working together to build more comprehensive and inclusive systems of care and support for FGC survivors and/or those at risk of FGC.

We are truly grateful for the support!

Sahiyo is excited to announce the upcoming publication of our new report, Examining the Current State of Critical Intersections: Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting and Social oppressions. The report explores how different forms of oppression intersect to limit survivors’ access to resources, as well as how the work to end FGM/C is connected to other themes across the human experience. 

In July 2021, Sahiyo hosted a public webinar titled, “Critical Intersections: Anti-Racism and Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C)." The discussion highlighted how systemic racism negatively effects the fight against FGM/C. The webinar was highly successful, engaging more than 300 people. 

Using that momentum, Sahiyo launched a research project to further understand how different forms of oppression affect marginalized communities that practice FGM/C and how to connect with other activist movements to strengthen our efforts to end FGM/C. 

This report is the first of a series on this research, and identifies current understandings of critical factors intersecting with FGM/C and outline the gaps in our knowledge. The publication is organized around seven core themes that intersect with FGM/C: religion, climate change, feminism, race and racism, law and policy, queer gender and sexuality, and bodily autonomy. This review serves as a significant starting point for Sahiyo’s own data collection for the  Examining Intersections Between FGM/C and other Social Oppressions Research Project, the results of which will be disseminated in Feb 2024.

For the past three years, we have been honored to have Catherine Cox, or Cate as we know her, serve as Programs Coordinator at Sahiyo U.S. In this role, Cate saw Sahiyo’s community education and outreach program, including training and technical assistance, grow and blossom. 

It is thus with great excitement and some sadness too, Sahiyo wishes Cate success and luck on her next adventure! Cate will be transitioning off of Sahiyo as Programs Coordinator to journey to the United Kingdom, where she will start her Masters at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London with the goal to study Human Rights Law. 

Cate first joined Sahiyo as a Programs Intern in 2020, while she was a freshman at Simmons College studying International Relations. Being the stellar intern that she was, after her term ended, she was offered the position of Sahiyo’s first ever Programs Coordinator; since then, she has worked to strengthen and expand the many services Sahiyo offers. Though we will miss her dearly, we are glad that Cate will remain active as a Sahiyo volunteer, and look forward to the many accomplishments she will make in the field of human rights law!

Sahiyo is eager to welcome Kaneez Madraswalla as our newest U.S. Advisory Board Member. A resident of New Jersey, Kaneez Madraswalla is a trained lawyer and Vice-President of Compliance at QBE North America, based in New York City

She co-leads the QBE Women’s Initiative Network, facilitating illuminating employee engagement events. Her other volunteering activities have included counseling survivors of domestic violence, refugee assistance, and grassroots political awareness.

Though she was not exposed to female genital cutting (FGC) as a child, Kaneez is an aspiring feminist and Bohra woman raised by a strong mother and enlightened father; she is a strong supporter of Sahiyo and is determined to see the end of FGC in the Bohra community and beyond.

By Umme Kulsoom Arif

This September, from the 15-19th, Sahiyo will host its annual Activists Retreat in person for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. For many Sahiyo volunteers and retreat alumni, it will be the first time in several years that activists, volunteers, and survivors will meet in person; we would love to have you attend!

The 2022 Sahiyo Activists Retreat was the first time I spoke about my experience as a female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) survivor in a real-time group setting. Though virtual, being surrounded by other survivors and activists candidly sharing their experiences with one another, offering sympathy and support, was an experience I will never forget, and I am incredibly grateful for it.

Activism is work. Whether private or public, it can feel very exhausting to make yourself vulnerable time and again, speaking about an often stigmatized and hidden subject. It can also feel incredibly lonely to speak out against deeply held convictions and traditions that seem to go back generations. Before 2022, I felt adrift in my trauma and my grief, wanting to be an activist but feeling unsure of what I could provide, and also afraid of the obstacles I would face in speaking up.

In my 2022 Retreat Reflection, I spoke candidly of that fear. My gender identity and sexuality have been shaped by my experience with FGM/C This had lead to me feel reluctant to share my experiences, especially as I myself felt trapped in the angriest stage of grief. The 2022 Activists Retreat, however, came with community and confirmation that my emotions were valid, that I was enough for wanting to speak up and speak out. The 2022 Retreat taught me how to grieve, taught me the value of community, and taught me the most important thing — we are not alone.

This year, in May, I had the honor of attending a one-day virtual retreat, where I met and spoke to survivors and those whose parents protected them from FGM/C, a perspective I had not anticipated hearing from, and simultaneously, one that brought me much joy. The voices of those who have begun to break the tradition of FGM/C are vital to the activist movement, and I am delighted to hear more of them joining the conversation. 

We are delighted to offer travel scholarships for domestic travel to Atlanta, Georgia, as well as housing and meals. I invite you to join us for three days of healing and hope, all supported by Sahiyo’s incredible team and wonderful Retreat Planning Committee.

Sahiyo U.S. would like to thank our friends at the South Asian Bar Association (SABA) of North America Foundation for a core support grant award of $6,500. The SABA Foundation supports access to justice for South Asian communities in North America and advances causes important to the communities they serve. They fund work related to domestic violence intervention; immigration rights; prevention of and support for victims of hate crimes, discrimination and racial profiling; and other community access to justice issues.

These funds will help Sahiyo specifically by expanding our Community Outreach and Education program, which trains health care providers, government officials, law enforcement, social services, and other community based organizations on ways to support female genital cutting (FGC) survivors; planning for our next annual Activists Retreat, where we train advocates to continue their work raising awareness against FGC; providing organizing power to FGC survivors in states that don’t yet have policy against FGC; and conducting valuable research investigating the needs of FGC survivors and the intersections of FGC and other oppressions, such as discrimination based on race, gender, religion, sexuality, and diverse migrant experiences.

On August 8th, Sahiyo hosted a training for the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice, titled “Cross-Collaborative Work: Incorporating Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting Survivors into Support Services in Virginia.” Even with growing recognition of FGC in the U.S., many service-providers, including law enforcement, are not adequately equipped to address FGC in the United States. This training provided an introductory foundation for an understanding of FGC, as well as the role the legal system and victims advocates have in addressing and responding to this issue. In addition, the training addressed key competencies and best practices for working with and interacting with survivors of FGC and/or practicing communities. 

This training was attended by 60+ members of the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services, including victims advocates, researchers, law enforcement, legal services, healthcare providers, and others.

Kigali, Rwanda — On July 16th, the Catalyzing Global Action to End FGM/C Women Deliver Pre-Conference (of which Sahiyo as a part of the Global Platform for Action to End FGM/C was a co-host) saw the launch of the Kigali Declaration which called on funders to  close the funding gap needed to end FGM/C amongst future generations. This declaration serves as an exercise of collective power from hundreds of activists, grassroots organizations, international NGOs, and academics, to highlight the urgent resourcing need for the End Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting sector. 

Specifically, this calls for accelerated investments and actions, with women-led organizations and the feminist movement at the center, for women and girls’ bodily autonomy and sexual and reproductive health and rights. It also includes a call for a global summit dedicated to funding the end of this harmful practice. 

The Declaration emphasizes the need to shift funding to grassroots organizations, and aims to mobilize donors and stakeholders to invest in the movement and bridge the funding gap: where only $4 available to avert each case of FGM/C, when $95 is required. By galvanizing support and resources, we can make significant strides in our efforts to end FGM/C. Read the 2023 Kigali Declaration here.

Cover photo: Nabeela Iqbal reads out the Kigali Declaration on July 18th at a Women Delivery Plenary event