The cruellest cut of all

Today on the International Day of Zero Tolerance towards Female Genital MutilationCutting FGMC a nongovernment organisation along with a digital storytelling platform will release Voices to End FGMC mdash a series of videos about the cruel practice and the need for it to end Survivors and advocates from across the world have created a list of 27 short clips on the issue with the help of Sahiyo a transnational NGO founded in 2015 with an aim end the practice of FGMC principally among the Dawoodi Bohra community in India and USbased StoryCenterThe World Health Organisation WHO defines FGM as a procedure that involves partial or total removal of the external female genitalia The practice is globally condemned as it violates the human rights of girls and womenGlobal prevalenceSpeaking about the practice Mariya Taher Sahiyo cofounder who is based out of Boston in the US said The stories are from 26 women and one man mdash who is the brother of a survivor The man spoke about his experience on learning what had happened to his sister and how it impacted his relationship with herTaher added The digital stories are from women living in India the UK Tanzania Singapore Bahrain Sweden and the US Some women underwent genital mutilation in the US There are stories of women from the UK who had it done in Sri Lanka or India Another woman from the US talks about the brutal experience she had when she was just a girl in Malaysia The videos highlight that practice is prevalent in every continent except AntarcticaSecretive practiceWhen asked how the practice slips through the cracks in the US given that Western nations have very strict laws Taher said Just like in India in the US too it is a very secretive practice In April 2017 a doctor was charged for performing FGM on minor girls in the US That case had many ups and downs but as a result many more survivors came forward to share their stories and the federal law in America came under constitutional scrutiny The US Congress is working on strengthening the law and individual US states are also trying to bring law to declare FGM illegal So far 35 of 50 US states have laws against it inThe sole male among the storytellers has also penned down his experience on Sahiyos blog Taher said Though he is the only man to participate in the project we have heard stories from other men too From sons who learnt that their mother underwent genital mutilation from husbands who have spoken to their wives and recognised the impact it had on their sexual lives and from fathers who regret not being able to prevent it from happening to their daughtersThe courageMumbais Aarefa Johari another Sahiyo cofounder who has also shared her story in the series said I have spoken about being cut or my FGM experience at events as well I have even written about it This platform meant I had complete ownership of my story It is different from being interviewed when I have to answer a set of questions There is a diversity of individual perspective Some women may see themselves as victims some as survivors and others none of the twoCollective empowermentStoryteller and FGM survivor said For me the storytelling process was about being be audacious able to heal and denounce how womens bodies are subjected to violence in many different ways To share this process with other women was collective empowerment that allowed us not to be invisibleTaher finished by saying Ultimately the Voices to End FGMC project is about building a cadre of voices speaking out and sharing experiences so that we can normalise talking about something that was considered a taboo for a very long time We can only create change if we are brave enough to speak about it and ask for itClick for storiesThe 27 new digital stories release today on Sahiyos Youtube page at httpbitlyVoicesFGMCVideosCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates