Cecilia Mwakenya is a journalist, and a recent graduate from Rural Aid Kenya, where she pursued a diploma in communications (broadcast option). Previously, she worked as a social media volunteer at Tunza Dada, as well as a news reporter at Hekima FM and the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC). Cecilia is passionate about women and girl's empowerment and has been telling human interest stories on human rights and education. She is excited to work with Sahiyo to help end female genital cutting among Asian and other communities.

What was your experience of learning about female genital cutting (FGC) for the first time like?

My first time encountering FGC was when I was thirteen years old. Growing up, I had no idea FGC existed, despite the fact that it was all around me. It was a surprising and terrifying experience because I learned about it from someone who went through the cut. I felt so bad and it left me with a strong desire to learn more about FGC, which is where my need to fight against FGC began.

When and how did you first get involved with Sahiyo?

I’ve known about Sahiyo since I was in school, when I was doing research for a project about FGC. In January 2023, I applied for the role of Editorial Intern. I was delighted to see an organization that shares the same values and interests looking for someone to support their work. I have a background in communications journalism, where I enjoy telling human interest stories as well as empowering women and girls to be better members in society. 

What does your work with Sahiyo involve?

I work on writing blog posts, assisting with editing , transcribing interviews for research and the blog, and fact-checking when needed.

How has your involvement with Sahiyo impacted your life?

Joining Sahiyo has been amazing. I feel so passionate about the work and the organization. Working with a team of supportive, strong, and hardworking women makes me feel so confident that I am in the right place with the right people. Since the day I joined Sahiyo, it has challenged me to grow career-wise and be confident.I feel really inspired, and I am proud of who I am becoming. I am so happy and lucky that I am working with Sahiyo, as it grows I also grow and learn.

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

Sahiyo is the right place to be. It gives you hope and sees the best in you. If you have the skills and you are passionate about Sahiyo, joining will be valuable to you because you will leave feeling motivated and empowered.

Washington State is one of the remaining ten U.S. states without any law that addresses and prohibits female genial mutilation/cutting (FGM/C). FGM/C is a human rights violation and form of child abuse and gender-based violence that involves removal of the female genitalia for non-medical purposes. 

This gap in state protection has left children in Washington vulnerable to this harmful practice. In fact, an estimated 25,000 women and girls in Washington are living with or at risk of undergoing FGM/C. The Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area is considered the 5th highest metro area in the U.S. in terms of the size of the FGM/C-affected community. In 2019, a change.org petition that gained 170,000+ signatures was started to address this lack of protection for children.

“Washington state is #18 for gender equality by US News and World Report. Gender Equality should be a priority in Washington state. Social, political, and economic equality and equity is limited when we don’t have the full participation of all of our women and girls. Harmful customs or social norms that contribute to GBV (gender-based violence) including FGM/C in addition to costing lifelong pain and suffering can hold women, girls, and others who have undergone FGM/C back from full participation.” 
~ Absa Samba 

The Washington Coalition to End FGM/C was created to educate people in the state about the need for policy solutions to address FGM/C. The coalition is made up of survivors, community organizations, legislators, advocates, and others. 

On March 9th the Washington Coalition to End FGM/C held a webinar in partnership with Sahiyo, The U.S. End FGM/C Network, Children’s Alliance, and Mother Africa to help shed light on how FGM/C impacts those living in Washington state, and to discuss policy level solutions, community-based programs, and education initiatives needed to protect women, girls, and others from undergoing this harmful practice. 

Speakers included: 

• Absa Samba, a student, activist, and survivor of FGM/C who helped found the Coalition and made contact with Washington Senators to sponsor a bill against FGM/C,
• Bettina Shell Duncan, a Professor of Anthropology at the University of Washington in Seattle who has done extensive research on FGM/C, 
• Stephan Blanford, the Executive Director of Children’s Alliance, 
• Muna Osman, Doctorate Prepared Nurse Practitioner, founder of holistic family care clinic, a co-founder of mama amaan research team, and survivor, 
• Senator Karen Keiser (D-WA 33), sponsor of SB 5453, a bill that will make FGM/C illegal in Washington State. 

Speakers helped to shed light on the issue of FGM/C by discussing what it was, who it impacts, and most importantly, that it does affect residents of Washington. The vital need for policy to end FGM/C amongst future generations of children was also discussed.

“The pressure to undergo FGM can be intense for girls and their families…the solution is to coordinate change in families and communities so that people are not acting in isolation. If everybody can agree to abandon the practice, the negative sanctions can be lifted...When other members of the community are given the power of law to strengthen their position, the law becomes a powerful tool for enhancing their power to persuade others that this is a practice that’s no longer relevant in this context and in this time.”   
~ Bettina Shell Duncan, panelist

The coalition has supported policy work by working on the passage of Washington Senate Bill 5453. This bill, informed by the Washington Coalition to End FGM/C, has been championed by state Senator Karen Keiser and, if passed, will prohibit FGM/C on minors, creates a civil cause of action for survivors of FGM/C, and establishes an education program to prevent FGM/C in Washington.

“This education component of this bill is huge for our [Somali] community. I think this bill coming from us, for us, by us, to help the community, I think it is a beautiful thing. I am confident that the community will accept it.”
~ Muna Osman, panelist

During the event, audience members were also called to action to support the bill by signing onto an action alert. As of March 29, Senate Bill 5453 has passed the Washington state Senate unanimously and is making its way through the House of Representatives. 

Similar legislation was introduced in the Washington legislature in 2019 but it did not pass; a key difference between the two campaigns is that this year in 2023, the bill is backed by a strong coalition of directly-impacted survivors, advocates, community members, health practitioners, human rights activists, policymakers, faith based groups, and other allies. Whereas in 2019, there was a lack of inclusion of FGC impacted communities who lived in Washington in the crafting of the legislation. The unanimous support from legislators this year is a strong indication that Washington state will become the 41st state to pass a law to prohibit and prevent FGM/C. 

“I’m so grateful for Sahiyo, and for the Voices to End FGM/C project for providing me with the platform to bring this story out of the darkness. Nearly two decades later, I am still healing and working on growing around my grief. Now, I think about who I want to be because this happened to me. I hope to break the cycle of trauma by redefining what it means to be a woman in my role as a wife, mother, and activist; I can continue contributing to a growing body of voices that will put an end to this practice in my daughter’s lifetime.”
~Farrah Dalal, Voices Storyteller

Farrah is one of seven storytellers in a new cohort of Sahiyo and StoryCenter’s Voices to End FGM/C project, choosing to share her personal story in the hope that no more girls will be subjected to FGM/C. 

On April 18th, Sahiyo will begin releasing seven videos produced as part of the Voices to End FGM/C project. A collaboration between Sahiyo, StoryCenter, and Asian Women’s Shelter (AWS), this project is mobilizing a critical mass of storytellers and activists from across the world by bringing people together to share and heal from their experiences of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C), connect and grow as leaders in their own communities, and create short videos calling for an end to this harmful practice.

“When I was exposed to Voices, I began contemplating sharing my story. When I talked to my husband about it, he asked me what I would add to the story. He said, ‘you already know what happened to you. What will you add to the story?’ I said, ‘no I don’t know what happened to me.’ At that moment, I started crying, realizing that for 50 years I had not spoken about this to anyone. That’s when I decided that I had to share my story for myself; I had to acknowledge that this had happened to me.”
~ Muna Osman, Voices storyteller 

Since 2018, there have been a total of seven workshops, supporting 63 storytellers from 19+ countries in sharing personal stories of courage and transformation. 

Voices videos are being utilized globally to advocate for the abandonment of FGM/C within communities, train healthcare and other service providers on the impact of FGM/C, and educate governments on the need for policies that protect future generations of girls from FGM/C. You can read reflection blogs from this cohort’s storytellers here. To view the new videos, check out this playlist. Previously published videos can be found on this playlist.

For further questions, contact Mariya at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Disclaimer

This blog was produced by Sahiyo under 15POVC-21-GG-00988-NONF, awarded by the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this guide are those of the contributors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.

By Derrick Simiyu

During this past March 8th, International Women’s Day, I was extremely excited to attend There’s an App For That? Technological Innovation and Change Towards Ending Female Genital Cutting, hosted by the Global Platform for Action to End FGM/C as a parallel event during the United Nations’ NGOCSW67. The webinar explored how technology, internet communication, and the digitalization of awareness raising can help support the elimination of female genital cutting (FGC). The event’s moderators were Caitlin LeMay of The U.S. End FGM/C Network and Esmael Omar of Amref Health Africa. 

Speakers for the webinar were leading innovators addressing FGC through technological solutions. The first was Priya Goswami, a Sahiyo Co-founder who has used her background in filmmaking and storytelling to create awareness about the harmful effects of FGC. She also created an app called Mumkin, the Bohra Gujarati word for ‘possible’. The aim of Mumkin was to provide a platform for engaging in difficult conversations around sensitive topics, such as FGC, domestic violence, and consent in relationships.

Priya discussed how Mumkin creates a safe digital space where one can freely speak out without fear of coercement. While the app's features are ethically improved through ongoing research, the safety of the app is of particular significance to the innovators. Mumkin is all about the difficult conversations needed to discover answers to ongoing challenges. 

The next speaker was Myriam Mhamedi, a lead communications and campaigns strategist for the End FGM EU Network. Myriam is in charge of implementing the Network's awareness-raising and communication for advocacy initiatives. She discussed how End FGM EU was formed, which is an umbrella network of approximately 35 different organizations working to ensure a joint European action to end FGC.

The presentation by Myriam Mhamedi stood out for me as she showed a network map of Europe that depicts the status of FGC in the different European countries. It is an awesome map that shows law, policy, data and training resources concerning FGC. According to the map, around 600,000 women are living with the consequences of FGC in Europe. It was surprising to me that FGC exists in Europe and has occurred in Europe for a long time; one may falsely think it is only done in Africa and does not happen in other places around the world.

Another innovator was Purity Christine Achieng, a software developer in mobile application development. She co-directed the creation of the iCut app, which allows young women to seek medical and legal aid before or after forcibly undergoing FGC. i-Cut allows users to choose from five main options: help, rescue, report, information on FGC, and donate and feedback. iCut also provides a platform where victims can directly dial emergency numbers for FGC call centers and other pertinent helplines.

Purity Christine explained how the app helps educate the general public about the harmful effects of FGC. She further stated that the use of technology to eliminate FGC is essential because it connects survivors quickly to organizations that can support them on their healing journey associated with FGC. I downloaded the iCut app, and quickly noticed the rescue centers, which I felt fulfilled the requirements of an FGC rescue app. The design was also amiable, in my opinion, making the experience enjoyable as well as informative.

Julie Debois, a UNICEF child protection specialist, was the last speaker on the panel. She developed the Pasha app, which acts as both a responsive and a preventative tool that  provides critical information about FGC. I found it very simple to download the Pasha app from the Google Play Store. I think the app is very user-friendly, and I appreciated the special function that allows users to report emergencies involving FGC anonymously if they happen to have no time for signing in.

The innovators also spoke to the challenges they underwent in the process of launching and maintaining their technological tools. The panelist shared that even with these technological tools, there is a challenge via a lack of knowledge in FGC impacted communities that these technologies even exist.

One key takeaway from the event for me was the need to incorporate and use technology in working to end FGC. It is a need that cannot be ignored. Through the use of technology, a bigger percentage of FGC impacted communities can be reached and we can move that much closer to ending FGC globally.

Thank you to everyone who participated in Sahiyo's inaugural International Women's Day Celebration & Silent Auction! We are truly grateful for the show of support. With the help of our incredible donors and supporters, we raised over $14K. 

Our five-day celebration of women’s voices began on Wednesday, March 8, 2023, with a fun and interactive virtual live comedy show featuring incredible comedians, Zahra Noorbakhsh, Marga Gomez, Pallavi Gunalan, and Zahra Ali. Throughout the rest of the week, we highlighted talented women by sharing their gifts of poetry, artwork, dance, and much more on our social media platforms. 

During this celebration, we were also thrilled to present a fantastic virtual silent auction, and we’re grateful to our supporters for the wonderful donations.

We are especially appreciative of our sponsors who helped make this event possible: Tabassum Zalotrawala, Mahamitra Group LLC, Raziudin & Latifa Moosajee, and WeSpeakOut.

Save the date for Sahiyo’s 2nd Annual Women’s Day Celebration & Silent Auction, which will be held March 6-10, 2024! Visit our website for more information or to sign up today.

In Washington state, Senate Billl 5453 concerning female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) recently passed the House Committee unanimously, and is now scheduled for a public hearing with the House Appropriations Committee on Friday, March 31st at 1:30 PM PST. 

The bill, which was introduced on January 18th, aims to: create a private right of action for survivors of FGM/C; prohibit providers from performing FGM/C on a minor; establish education and outreach initiatives to prevent FGM/C; provide care for victims and families of FGM/C.

You can show your support for this bill in one of the ways below:

• Testify In-Person (oral testimony limited to only 1-2 minutes max)
• Testify Remotely (oral testimony limited to only 1-2 minutes max)
• Submit Written Testimony
• Vote Pro

Learn more about Washington SB 5453 from the Washington Coalition.