Rachel is a graduate student at Georgetown University, working towards her Master’s of Science in Global Health with a focus on health equity. In 2020, she earned her BSPH at Tulane University, where she double-majored in public health and anthropology with a minor in international development. Her passion lies at the intersection of activism and storytelling, and she loves supporting Sahiyo’s work of elevating survivors’ voices for the empowerment of women everywhere.

When and how did you first get involved with Sahiyo?

I first started working with Sahiyo in September of 2021. I had learned about the incredible work Sahiyo was doing from another graduate of my Master’s program, who had also worked with Sahiyo, and found myself extremely drawn to Sahiyo’s work and mission.

What does your work with Sahiyo involve?

As editorial coordinator, a big part of my work is supporting survivors and allies in developing their stories into blog posts. I love being a part of a process that amplifies these voices, and watching the exploration of their thoughts, feelings, and opinions on their experience. I also work to create the monthly newsletter, which updates our many subscribers on Sahiyo’s activities over the past month!

How has your involvement with Sahiyo impacted your life?

Coming from a public health background, I saw FGC handled as a “cultural practice” that Westerners didn’t have the lens to understand. In fact, during one of my maternal and child health classes, a professor told us that we couldn’t judge the practice because it was based on cultural norms and values different from ours. I didn’t really question this, until I interviewed at Sahiyo. Since beginning my work here, exposure to survivors’ stories and the expertise of Sahiyo’s co-founders has helped me realize that, although FGC may be based in cultural or religious norms, this doesn’t erase its undeniable roots in gender violence. And while FGC is also a pervasive issue in the West, there are many cultural norms that originate in Western societies, like the over-sexualization of the female body in the media, that are harmful to young women and girls; however, I don’t think anyone would negate the harm caused by this just because it’s tied to “cultural norms.” This realization really forced me to take a step back and re-examine the way I view the world in many ways.

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

Every act of violence against women is interconnected. Though I come from a community that does not practice FGC, it is still my job to call out this form of gender violence that affects women around the world; ending violence that is ingrained in cultural or religious norms, especially in cultures and religions that are not mine, is my fight. Intersectional feminism is the only way to achieve liberation of all women.

By Amela Tokić

Last October, Sahiyo hosted a webinar called Moving Towards Sexual Pleasure and Emotional Healing After Female Genital Cutting. This provided an opportunity to hear from three inspirational speakers: psychotherapist and author Farzana Doctor, activist Sarian Karim-Kamara, and psychotherapist Joanna Vergoth, on female genital cutting (FGC), sexuality and its connection to mental health. The webinar jump-started an important discussion on ways survivors can begin to move towards their own sexual pleasure and emotional healing after FGC. 

Sahiyo didn’t hesitate to delve into difficult and taboo subjects surrounding FGC, such as psycho-social and mental impacts of FGC, and provided survivors and non-survivors a space to better understand the process of sexual and emotional healing after FGC.

Coming this November, Sahiyo will be hosting a second part to the webinar: Moving Towards Sexual Pleasure and Emotional Healing After Female Genital Cutting Part 2. The webinar will dive deeper into these topics with three new expert panelists: 

• Nazneen Vasi, pelvic floor therapist and founder of Body Harmony Physical Therapy.
• Manal Omar, founder of Across Red Lines,
• Haddi Ceesay, health educator and consultant for HEART

Register for the event here: https://bit.ly/MovingFurther 

The event is open to anyone who wishes to attend.

Watch the recording of the first webinar

Read the transcript of the first webinar

Read the blog post for the first webinar

Read answers to questions from the first webinar

The event is sponsored by Sahiyo.

By Beth Fotheringham

On the 16th of September, the FAWCO Target Team collaborated with Sahiyo for an educational webinar about FGM/C in the United States. The webinar sought to highlight the essential work Sahiyo does in their work to end FGC and support survivors.

At the start of the webinar, Sahiyo co-founder and U.S. Executive Director Mariya Taher  provided context with her own expertise on both ‘khatna’ and the Dawoodi Bohras, a community that partakes in the  harmful practice of FGM/C. Through her own journey of speaking out as a survivor, she recognised the need for an organised forum within practicing communities, as well as the individual and collective benefits of creating positive social change through empowerment. It was evident that this had informed Sahiyo’s own unique approach to supporting survivors and raising awareness, which centres on storytelling. 

Mariya proceeded to clarify the various terminologies used in talking about female genital cutting (FGC), as well as the different types of the practice; she deftly outlined why Sahiyo uses ‘cutting’ instead of ‘mutilation,’ while respecting the right of survivors to choose how to define and describe their own experiences. 

She unflinchingly laid out the fact that 500,000+ women and girls are estimated to be living with, or at risk of, FGM/C in the US. This was especially shocking for me to learn, due to so much of the discourse surrounding FGC focusing on cases in Africa or “developing” countries, and evidence of such practices being greatly underreported in the Western world. This figure was made even more impactful when Mariya further deconstructed the statistic. She posited that this is most likely an under-representation, as it does not include any diasporic communities from countries not included within the 32 countries studied by UNICEF. 

For example, the Bohra community, who do practice FGC, are not counted in this statistic, nor are most other Asian countries where evidence of FGC exists. The most recent study into FGC prevalence found evidence of FGC in 92 countries worldwide, strongly suggesting that the statistic from the United States is a considerable underestimate. Through the webinar, we learned that there are current efforts within the US by the Center for Disease Control and Prevent (CDC) to capture more accurate data, which sounded promising, but that data collection is in its early stages. 

In another part of the webinar, various survivor stories from the Voices to End FGC project were introduced. Renee Bergstrom’s story was particularly powerful in addressing and disrupting common misconceptions about where FGC takes place and to whom. Jenny’s story portrayed the devastating silence that upholds the practice happening generation after generation; Maryah Haidery’s story explored the various psychological consequences of FGC. All were both informative and inspiring.

Mariya also spoke on the legal context of FGC in the United States, explaining and analysing the current federal legislation, while applying it to real legal cases. This was especially helpful to understand — as someone who lives outside of the US I find the state/federal separation particularly confusing — and it became much clearer how abuses of human rights, such as FGC, are able to slip through the gaps of the law.

After watching the webinar, I found it indisputably apparent that there are neither sufficient federal nor state laws to effectively uphold the work against FGC in the United States, and absolutely appalling that not even every state has legislation against the practice (with only 6/7 states having comprehensive laws against FGC). Though I understand that criminalisation of FGC is by no means the only, or most effective, way of ending the practice, I think it is important in taking a clear (and sometimes symbolic) stance against FGC with coherent legislation that automatically supports the work of activists and survivors to stop FGC in different countries. Alongside this, it also helps families who are doubtful of the benefits of FGC for their daughters have a legitimate reason not to carry out the procedure while not having to outright stand against the rules of their cultures and communities. 

I found it especially inspiring to hear from Mariya how Sahiyo’s work has been instrumental in passing state laws; most recently, and successfully, in Massachusetts. Sahiyo is now engaged in similar work to pass a state law in Connecticut, one of the ten remaining states without any legal protections against FGC whatsoever. I think focusing on the progress that has been made definitely provides effective encouragement to keep working for change.

It was similarly uplifting to learn that the Voices Projects have resulted in survivors feeling a sense of empowerment and a surge of desire for collective action, as well as experiencing a strong sense of comradery with other storytellers. This embodies what inspires and impresses me most about Sahiyo: not only are they doing crucial work to end FGC and stop future generations of girls, women and others from having to undergo the practice, but they also have an important focus on supporting those that have already been through it. Listening to the stories of these survivors conveys clearly how successful this parallelled approach is.

Interestingly, in Sahiyo’s study of 400 Dawoodi Bohra women, which found that 80% of the  women had been cut, 81% also said that they didn’t want the practice to continue into the next generation. FGC is a social norm that has been justified, with silence being a key part of why it has continued. I now understand how telling these stories breaks the silence and takes the conversation out of hidden, private spheres and into the public one. Mariya spoke of particularly relevant research that found when it comes to social norms and culture change, if 25% of a community changes or adopts a new norm, then it becomes wide scale enough for permanent change to occur.

Mariya concluded her talk by discussing Sahiyo’s various other programs, such as Thaal Pe Charcha, Bhaiyo, Sahiyo Activist Retreat, and Community Education and Outreach, all of which have had substantial success in supporting FGC survivors and raising awareness. It was clear by the end of the webinar how essential the services Sahiyo provide are to survivors alongside the wider communities, and what an integral role they play in worldwide efforts to stop FGC.

પ્રિય માસી એ એક કોલમ છે, જે સેક્સ અને સંબંધ વિષેની એવી બધી બાબતો પર ભાર મૂકે છે, જેને પૂછવામાં તમને ડર લાગતો હોય! આ કોલમ સહિયો અને WeSpeakOut વચ્ચેની એક ભાગીદારી છે. તે આપણા બધા માટે છે, જેમને ફીમેલ જેનિટલ કટિંગ (એફ.જી.સી.) અથવા ખતના અને તેની આપણા શરીર, મન, સેક્સ્યુઆલિટી અને સંબંધો પર કેવી અસર પડે છે તે વિષે પ્રશ્નો હોય. બોહરીઓમાં, માસી એટલે તમારી મમ્મીની બહેન. અમે તમને અહિયાં તમારા પ્રશ્નો મોકલવા માટે આવકારીયે છીએ. જો તમને કોઇ સંકોચ થાય તો, મહેરબાની કરીને ઉપનામનો ઉપયોગ કરી શકો છો (તમારું સાચું નામ વાપર્યા વિના).

પ્રિય માસી,

મારી ઉંમર 40 વર્ષ છે અને મારો તલાક થઇ ગયો છે, પરંતુ હાલમાં હું એક સુંદર વ્યક્તિને મળી જે બોહરા સમાજના નથી અને અમારા સંબંધ ગાઢ બન્યા છે. શું મારે તેને મારા ખતના વિષે વાત કરવી જોઇએ? હું કેવી રીતે વાતની શરૂઆત કરું? અને શું તે જૂના માનસિક આઘાતને તાજો કરવો જરૂરી છે?

- ડિવોર્સી દુરિયાં

પ્રિય ડિવોર્સી દુરિયાં,

નવા સંબંધ માટે અભિનંદન! તમે આ પ્રશ્નનો ઉકેલ લાવવાનો પ્રયત્ન કરી રહ્યાં છો તે એક સારી બાબત છે. હું એ બાબતથી શરૂઆત કરીશે કે અંગત માહિતી શેર કરવી કે નહીં એ હંમેશા તમારી પસંદગી હોય છે અને તેના કેટલાક ફાયદાઓ અને ગેરફાયદાઓ હોય છે જેના પર વિચાર કરવો જોઇએ.

ચાલો ફાયદાઓથી શરૂ કરીએ:

ફાયદા #1: તમારી નબળાઇઓ શેર કરવાથી નિકટતા અને ભરોસામાં વધારો થાય છે. મારું માનવું છે કે ખાસ કરીને માનસિક આઘાતની બાબતમાં આ સાચું છે કારણ કે તેવું અધિકાંશ ગોપનીયતા, શરમ અને એકાંતના સંદર્ભમાં બને છે. કોઇ પ્રિયજન સાથે તે વિષે વાત કરવી એ મદદરૂપ થઇ શકે છે; તે મૌનને તોડે છે અને તમે એકલા હો તેવું ઓછું મેહસુસ થતું નથી. ફાયદા #2: જ્યારે આપણા પ્રિયજનો એ બાબતને સમજે કે એક આઘાત આપણને માનસિક, શારીરિક અથવા સેક્સ્યુઅલી કેવી અસર કરે છે ત્યારે સાજા થવામાં તેઓ આપણા વધુ સારા સાથી સાબિત થઇ શકે છે.

આ રહ્યું એક ઉદાહરણ: ક્યારેક અમુક પ્રકારનો સ્પર્શ મને આધાત પહોંચાડે છે. મારા સાથીને ખતના વિષે જાણ હોવાથી તેણે મને સાથ આપ્યો અને મને મારા આધાતમાંથી બહાર નીકળીને ફરી સ્વસ્થ થવાનો સમય આપ્યો અને મારી મદદ કરી.

કેવી બાબતો તમને તકલીફો આપી શકે છે તેનો વિચાર કરો અને ત્યારબાદ તમને કેવી રીતે સપોર્ટ કરવો તે વિષે તમારા પ્રિયજનને જણાવો.

સાવધાની: સામેની વ્યક્તિ તમારી હિતેચ્છુ કે કેમ તે જાણો.

હવે ગેરફાયદા ની વાત કરીયે:

ગેરફાયદા #1: જો તમારા પ્રિયજન સહાનુભૂતિ પ્રત્યે કુશળ ના હોય અને/અથવા ખતના આઘાતજનક હોય શકે છે તે ના સમજે, તો તેઓ અજાણતાં તમારી લાગણીઓને ઓછી અથવા અમાન્ય કરી શકે છે અથવા તમને જજ કરી શકે છે. જે તમને ફરી આઘાતની લાગણી આપી શકે છે, ખાસ કરીને જો તમે તેના માટે તૈયાર ના હો તો. આ મુશ્કેલી દૂર કરવાની એક રીત એ છે કે તમારી સ્ટોરી શેર કરતા પહેલાં ફક્ત માહિતી શેર કરો. તે માટે મેં આ બ્લોગ પોસ્ટ લખ્યો છે. ઉપયોગી એવા વધારે આર્ટિકલો અને વિડીયો માટે સહિયો બ્લોગ અને WeSpeakOut વેબસાઇટ જુઓ.

ગેરફાયદા #2: આપણને સપોર્ટ કરતા લોકો સાથે પણ આપણા માનસિક આઘાત વિષે વાત કરવી એ આપણને નિર્બળ અને ખૂબ જ લાગણીશીલ બનાવી શકે છે. જો તમને લાગે કે તમારી સાથે આવું બની શકે છે, તો સુનિશ્ચિત કરો કે તમારી પાસે તમને મદદ કરી શકે તેવી કોઇ વ્યક્તિ હોય. ઉદાહરણ તરીકે, કોઇ સારા મિત્ર અથવા સલાહકાર. આ બાબતની ખાતરી કરવાની એક રીત એ છે કે તમે જેં કંઇ કહી શકો તેનું રિહર્સલ કરવું અને સામે કેવી પ્રતિક્રિયા મળે છે તેના પર ધ્યાન આપવું.

વાતચીતની શરૂઆત કેમ કરવી:

ખતના વિષે વાત કરવાની ઘણી રીતો છે. આ રહી એક માર્ગદર્શિકા. તમને લાગુ ના પડતી હોય તેવી બાબતોને છોડી દો અને તેમાં તમારી પોતાની રીતે ફેરફાર કરો.

1. પ્રસ્તાવના:

હું તમારી સાથે કંઇક શેર કરવા માંગુ છું. તે એક અંગત અને સંવેદનશીલ વાત છે.

તમે મારા માટે એક મહત્વપૂર્ણ વ્યક્તિ હોવાને કારણે હું તમારી સાથે આ વાત શેર કરું છું.

હું ઇચ્છું છું કે તમે પહેલા પૂરી વાત સાંભળો અને પછી તમને કોઇ પ્રશ્નો હશે તો હું તેનો જવાબ આપીશ. શું વાત કરવા માટે આ સમય યોગ્ય છે?

2. તેમને આ પ્રથા વિષે થોડી સામાન્ય માહિતી આપો, પરંતુ વધુ માહિતી આપશો નહીં:

મારો સમાજ ખતના નામની જેનિટલ કટિંગની પ્રથાને અનુસરે છે. હું જ્યારે નાનકડી હતી ત્યારે મારી સાથે પણ તેમ કરવામાં આવ્યું હતું. તે એક પ્રતિબંધિત વિષય છે અને તેને આઘાતજનક માનવામાં આવે છે.

3. તેમને તમારા પોતાના આઘાત વિષે જણાવો (આ ભાગ ઘણો મોટો હોય શકે છે, તેથી આ એક ફક્ત ઉદાહરણ છે):

હું ઠીક છું, પરંતુ ક્યારેક તે વિષે વિચારીને હું અસ્વસ્થ થઇ જાવ છું અને દર વખતે કેટલીક સેક્સ્યુઅલ સ્થિતિમાં હું માનસિક તણાવમાં હોવાનું મેહસુસ કરું છું.

4. તમે તેમના તરફથી શું અપેક્ષા રાખો છો તે વિષે તેમને જણાવો (આ ભાગ પણ ખૂબ જ મોટો હોય શકે છે):

હું એવું નથી ઇચ્છતી કે તમે હમણાં કંઇ કહો અથવા કરો.

તે મારા જીવનનો એક અનુભવ હોવાને કારણે હું તમારી સાથે આ વાત શેર કરી રહી છું અને તે કદાચ તમને એ સમજવામાં મદદરૂપ થાય કે શા માટે હું ક્યારેક ખાસ પ્રકારની પ્રતિક્રિયા આપું છું.

5. તેમને થોડી સામગ્રીઓ આપો, જેથી તેઓ તે વિષે થોડું વધારે જાણી શકે: જો તમને કોઇ પ્રશ્નો હોય તો, મને તેનો જવાબ આપવામાં ખુશી થશે. જો તમને ગમે તો, હું તમને કેટલાક આર્ટિકલો વાંચવાનું અને વિડીયો જોવાનું સૂચન પણ કરી શકું.

હું ખરેખર આશા રાખું છે કે તમારો નવો પ્રેમી સારો હશે! જો તમે તેની સાથે વાત કરવાનો નિર્ણય કરો તો, તે કદાચ તમારી સાજા થવાના અનુભવને સારો બનાવી શકે છે.

- માસી

માસી ઉર્ફ ફરઝાના ડૉક્ટર

ફરઝાના એ એક નોવેલિસ્ટ અને પ્રાઇવેટ પ્રક્ટિસમાં સાયકોથેરાપિસ્ટ છે. તેણી WeSpeakOut અને ‘એન્ડ એફ.જી.એમ./સી. કેનેડા નેટવર્ક’ની એક સ્થાપક સભ્ય છે. તેણીને સંબંધો અને સેક્સ્યુઆલિટી વિષે વાત કરવી ગમે છે! તેણી વિષે તમે www.farzanadoctor.com પરથી વધુ માહિતી મેળવી શકો છો.

તેમની નવી નોવેલ સેવનને અહીં ઑર્ડર કરો, જેમાં દાઉદી બોહરા સમાજના સંદર્ભમાં બૈરાઓના સંબંધો, સેક્સ્યુઆલિટી, બેવફાઇ વિષે વાત કરવામાં આવી છે.

ઘોષણા: ફરઝાના સંપૂર્ણ રીતે સારી સલાહ આપતી હોય, તે છતાં આ કોલમ દરેક વ્યક્તિની અંગત ચિંતાઓનું સંબોધન કરશે નહીં અને તેનો વ્યાવસાયિક મેડિકલ અથવા સાયકોલોજિકલ સંભાળની અવેજી રૂપે ઉપયોગ કરવામાં આવવો જોઇએ નહીં.

Read the Hindi version here, and the English version here.

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!

By: Amela Tokić

On October 9th, 2021, community-led movement End FGC Singapore, which strives to empower Muslim communities in Singapore to end the practice of female genital cutting (FGC), hosted a virtual event to bring more attention to the medical impact and medicalization of FGC. 

Saza Faradilla, co-founder of End FGC Singapore and facilitator of the event, introduced the historical background of FGC in Singapore and the rise of FGC medicalization. Guest speaker Dr. Ida Ismail-Pratt shared her medical perspective on the sexual, physical, and psychosocial impacts of medicalized FGC on women and girls. While the full event will not be published, End FGC Singapore will be sharing snippets on its Instagram page.

The Medical Perspectives on Female Genital Cutting (FGC) webinar dove deep into the impact FGC poses through migration, with a particular focus at western countries as well. This gave an interesting perception of FGC as a deeply rooted cultural norm, and thus many women and girls born in western countries would seek out FGC in the countries they had migrated to; alternatively, they could be forcibly brought back to their origin countries for the procedure, if FGC is not legally accessible in the migrated countries. 

This left many participants pondering and asking the questions: Is there a medically safe way to perform FGC? How would I recognize if FGC was performed on me? Is there a difference in consequences when FGC is performed on adults or infancy?

My personal highlight from the event was hearing Dr. Ida Ismail-Pratt share professional studies on the sexual impact FGC has on women. The studies focused on both women who have not undergone FGC and those who have undergone FGC, and it concludes that sexual desire is not impacted by having undergone FGC or not. This is a powerful statement, as many who undergo FGC are believed to have a lessened sexual drive as a result. However, the primary impact FGC has on women is the effect it poses on their sexual experience(s) – lower sexual satisfaction. 

This webinar was a perfect blend of a medical perspective along with a statistical analysis. It not only provided a professional opinion of the impact FGC has on women and girls, but it also provided solid evidence from survivors of FGC as well. One of the most startling findings is that the majority of women and girls are not even aware that they have undergone FGC, since it was done at such an early age. If they are aware, they often do not know who performed the procedure or with what medical instrument. 

For those interested in being part of future virtual events hosted by End FGC Singapore, you can follow them on Instagram and/or Eventbrite.

Read more about past webinars and/or donate to support the end of FGC in Singapore.

Dear Maasi is a column about everything you wanted to know about sex and relationships but were afraid to ask! It’s a partnership between Sahiyo and WeSpeakOut, and is for all of us who have questions about khatna (female genital mutilation/cutting or FGM/C) and how it impacts our bodies, minds, sexualities and relationships. We welcome you to submit your anonymous questions.  

Dear Maasi, 

I am a transgender man who underwent female genital cutting against my will as a child. What happened to me as a child continues to affect my life and sometimes my romantic, sexual relationships. I chose to transition as an adult and while I’m out about that, I do find it awkward to talk about being an FGC survivor because I don’t relate to the “F”. Can you help me to understand the best ways to broach this topic with a partner? Also, many of the spaces for those who underwent FGC seem to be reserved for cisgender women.  

--Adam 

Dear Adam, 

Your question reminded me of a recent article by Dena Igusti who wrote, “From language to resources, all aspects of FGM, the before, during, and after, assume an FGM survivor (often a child) has and always will be a cis-woman. They also constantly associate FGM with just womanhood.” 

The underlying assumption of most FGM/C organizations—that every survivor is a cisgender woman—is oppressive and needs to change. It’s estimated that there are 1.4 million transgender people and 1.2 million non-binary people living in the US, according to studies by the Williams Institute. Some of them are FGM/C survivors, who, like you, will likely feel alienated and unwelcome at these organization, including the ones with whom I volunteer. 

These FGM/C organizations should invest in training around gender diversity and shift policies and language to be more inclusive. Perhaps we even need to consider abandoning the “F” in FGM/C while not losing some of the gender-based violence analysis that is critical to understanding this form of genital cutting. 

But let’s get back to your question about how to best broach this topic with a partner. Here are some thoughts:-It can feel fraught to disclose FGM/C. In this column, I answered general questions about whether and how to talk with a partner. 

-For some trans and non-binary people, talking about pre-transition gendered experiences can leave them with a feeling of gender dysphoria. This might be what you refer to as the “awkward” feeling. If this is the case for you, Adam, be gentle with yourself. When disclosing to a partner, be as general or specific as you would like and use the words that best fit your body. 

-Marginalized people can sometimes experience a kind of voyeurism from people who don’t share their experiences when they choose to open up. I know I’ve experienced this from non-FGM/C survivors, and I know my trans friends can experience this with cisgender people. So you might get a double-whammy of voyeurism as you talk about this dual experience. Be prepared for that, and consider your boundaries in advance. 

-Address this experience as sexual trauma, which has psychological, physical and sexual impacts that are different for every survivor, but can include a range of things I described in this column. While there are unique features of our experiences, much of what creates healing lies in understanding some of the more common aftereffects of trauma. 

-If you’d like to seek professional help, find a service that is both trans-positive and FGM/C competent. Check out the resources at Trans Lifeline and, because few mental health providers have been trained in FGM/C issues, you may have to follow the advice I offered in this column to find a service provider. 

Adam, you are not alone, and I hope that FGM/C organizations begin the process of trans-inclusion;  perhaps your question, and this column, helps with that process.  

I also hope that you find the right support for you. Romantic and sexual pleasure is our birthright! 

---Maasi 

Note: For readers would like to educate themselves about transgender and non-binary identities and issues, check out The National Centre for Trans Equality.  

About Maasi, aka Farzana Doctor:

Farzana is a novelist and psychotherapist in private practice. She’s a founding member of WeSpeakOut and the End FGM/C Canada Network. She loves talking about relationships and sexuality! Find out more about her at www.farzanadoctor.com 

Disclaimer:

While Farzana is full of good advice, this column won’t address everyone’s individual concerns and should not be used as a substitute for professional medical or psychological care. 

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.