A daughter’s khatna, a father’s regret: A poem in Hindi
by Abbas Ali Bohari This is a heartfelt poem about a Bohra father’s greatest regret. The poet, who hails from Indore, India, spent years praying for the birth of a child and was finally blessed with a daughter. A few years later, he found out that she had been subjected to khatna, or female genital cutting, behind his back. This is a poem about his grief for her, his regret, and his plea to the world to end the cutting of girls in the name of religion. एक पिता का अफ़सोस कई बरसों रहे दोनों बेकरार रहमान ने लगाया बेड़ा पार बुजुर्गों की दुआओं का भी असर गुड़िया रानी आयी हमारे घर रौशन कर दिया हमारा संसार लायी खुशियों की सौगात अपार अब ना करू किसी की दरकार मालिक बस तेरा ही शुक्रगुज़ार हँसते हँसाते गए बरस गुजर एक दिन ऐसा आया खूंखार मज़हब के नाम पर मचाया अंधेर मासूम के जिस्म को किया दागदार कसम ख़ुदा की मैं नही ख़तावार पीठ पीछे किया सारा अत्याचार कही नही मिली दींन में तफ़सीर हैरां हूं कब से शुरू हुआ ये फ़ितूर शरीयत का अंग बताते ज़ाहील ज़ोकर पर मुख़ालिफ़त करते इल्मी ज़ानकार मगरिबी तहज़ीब करे इंकार मशरीकी कौमे बैठी लाचार खत्म करो नाजायज़ विचार सज़ा पाये सारे जो है हक़दार *अब्बास* करे अफ़सोस बारबार बचा ना पाया अपना लख्तेज़िगर
Critical Intersections
Examining Intersections between FGM/C and other Social Oppressions: A Research Project View Scoping Review Report VIEW MIXED METHODS REPORT Increase impact to end female genital cutting: How to build cross-movement collaborative partnerships Together, we can find opportunities to build a more equitable world. Since November 2023, Sahiyo has provided presentations, training, and technical assistance to our allies and partner organizations related to our survivor and advocate-led research project. Our aim is to highlight how the movement to end female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) intersects with related social justice movements and systems of oppression, such as: climate change, queer gender and sexuality, bodily autonomy, race/racism, religion, feminism, and law and policy. Our trainings support organizations to do the following: Build holistic programs that identify the intersectional identities and associated needs of FGM/C survivors Identify components of building successful collaborations across organizations focused on different social oppressions (i.e. systemic racism and FGM/C) Compile tools, resources, case studies, and more that illustrate how cross-collaboration can be carried out within the larger social justice field Trainings Available: Introduction to Intersections with FGM/C- Exploring the overarching themes derived from our initial review on the state of intersectionality in regards to FGM/C: race/racism, religion, bodily autonomy, feminism, law and policy, Queer gender and sexuality, and climate change. Organizations Trained: The Girl Generation Approaching Intersectional Collaboration- Examining challenges to and opportunities for cross-sector collaboration between the FGM/C field and other social justice movements, to address the intersectional nature of FGM/C and other forms of gender-based violence. Organizations Trained: Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence Asian Women’s Shelter AshaKiran Examining Specific Intersections- How oppressive systems, such as racism, impact FGM/C survivors and advocates working to end FGM/C. This presentation includes examples derived from participants working in FGM/C and other related fields collected from throughout the research project. Recommendations are also discussed for how to build intersectional approaches to address FGM/C. Organizations Trained: World Bank FGM/C Legal Working Group Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault (ICASA) If you and your organization would like to learn more, reach out to Rachel Wine at rachel@sahiyo.org. NEWEST REPORT Examining Intersections Between Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting and Social Oppressions: A Qualitative Study is the third and final report in the Critical Intersections Research Project; it focuses on the results of in-depth interviews with 29 key experts, social justice advocates, and organizations in the anti-FGM/C movement and other related social justice movements. The report focused on prominent intersections discussed in the former two reports: Race LGBTQIA+ Religion Gender Challenges to and opportunities for cross-collaboration across social movements to end FGM/C. Recommendations for intersectional approaches to end FGM/C: 1 Coordinate with social service sectors across various social justice issues to improve support and resources for survivors. 2 Improve language and framing of FGM/C to limit racialization and/or exclusion of marginalized communities in terms of who is impacted by FGM/C. 3 Increase education on how FGM/C is intersectional within anti-FGM/C organizations, as well as across different movements/sectors. 4 Implement more diverse and equitable approaches to data collection, analysis, and dissemination that include input from a diverse array of stakeholders. Since 2021, we have connected with over 100 advocates in the FGM/C and related fields to better understand how to build cross-collaborative partnerships thoughtfully and sustainably. HISTORY In 2022, Sahiyo initiated the Critical Intersections Research Project based on a popular 2021 webinar Critical Intersections: AntiRacism and Female Genital Mutilation/ Cutting (FGM/C). The webinar examined the effects of racism on FGM/C survivors and the movement to end FGM/C. This expanded research project similarly seeks this topic with the following questions: How has systemic racism delayed substantial change on this issue of meeting progress toward achieving the U.N. Sustainable Development Goal to end FGM/C by 2030? Are there possible connections to other movements such as #MeToo and Black Lives Matter that can come into play? Upon initiating this project, Sahiyo discovered that in addition to systemic racism, several other factors of the human experience intersect with FGM/C to tell a larger story of critical intersections. Our initial project aims expanded to include: Create a foundation for further research into the locally-specific confluence of factors that have significant implications for the holistic well-being of marginalized communities affected by FGM/C. Illuminate possibilities for creating ties between social reform and social justice movements that may accelerate change. Examining the Current State of Critical Intersections: Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting and Social Oppressions Identifying current understandings of critical factors intersecting with FGM/C is helpful to outline the gaps in our knowledge and understand how they impact the work being done to end FGM/C globally. This body of work, which is the first initiative of the Critical Intersections Research Project, established an important foundation for further exploration of the topic. jQuery(document).ready(function ($) { var pdf = “https://sahiyo.org/images/programs/Research/Critical_Intersections_Report.pdf”; var options = { hard: “cover”, webgl: false, height: 750, duration: 800, soundEnable: false, scrollWheel: false, backgroundColor: “inherit”, direction: DFLIP.DIRECTION.LTR, enableDownload: true, text: { toggleSound: “Turn on/off Sound”, toggleThumbnails: “Toggle Thumbnails”, toggleOutline: “Toggle Outline/Bookmark”, previousPage: “Previous Page”, nextPage: “Next Page”, toggleFullscreen: “Toggle Fullscreen”, zoomIn: “Zoom In”, zoomOut: “Zoom Out”, toggleHelp: “Toggle Help”, singlePageMode: “Single Page Mode”, doublePageMode: “Double Page Mode”, downloadPDFFile: “Download PDF File”, gotoFirstPage: “Go to First Page”, gotoLastPage: “Go to Last Page”, share: “Share” }, }; var flipBook = $(“#dfb67b90a1b94b6aContainer”).flipBook(pdf, options); }); Sahiyo compiled an extensive body of works, including peer-reviewed literature, editorials, opinion pieces, reviews, and social media communications, to better understand how intersectionality comes across within the movement to end FGM/C. From this review, we produced a set of themes commonly discussed when it comes to FGM/C and intersectionality. The report is organized around seven core themes that intersect with FGM/C and interact with each other to create a complex picture: Religion “… religion is often misused in regards to FGM/C… as a weapon against survivors… and almost protecting those committing this harm” -Sameera Qureshi, Sahiyo’s Religion and FGC Panel Bodily Autonomy “Not knowing what happened to my body at such a young age led to a dissonance between body and being. If I can’t even understand