Abstract
Sahiyo Stories brought together women from across the United States to create personalized digital stories narrating the experience of undergoing female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C). FGM/C continues because people believe that if a girl does not undergo it, she will not grow up to be a “good woman.” For centuries, then, women have been afraid to speak about FGM/C for fear of ostracization from their communities, getting loved ones in trouble, and other reasons. Sahiyo Stories shatters this silence and the digital stories collection is woven together by a united sentiment to protect future generations of girls from this harm.
References
Allam H. (2018, November 29). Two girls had their genitals cut, but a judge dismissed their case—Here’s why. Buzzfeed News. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/hannahallam/fgm-dawoodi-bohra-genital-cutting-michigan-ruling
Batha E. (2019, April 1). U.S. woman says strict Christian parents subjected her to FGM. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-religion-fgm/us-woman-says-strict-christian-parents-subjected-her-to-fgm-idUSKCN1RD2LI
Bergstrom D. (2016, December 3). FGM happened to me in White, Midwest America. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/02/fgm-happened-to-me-in-white-midwest-america
Female genital mutilation. (n.d.). https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/female-genital-mutilation
Female genital mutilation. (2016, June 1). https://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/topics/fgm/prevalence/en/
Goldberg H., Stupp P., Okoroh E., Besera G., Goodman D., Danel I. (2016). Female genital mutilation/cutting in the United States: Updated estimates of women and girls at risk, 2012. Public Health Report, 131(2), 340–347.
Silence speaks > impacts. (n.d.). [PowerPoint presentation]. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55368c08e4b0d419e1c011f7/t/57911ce4b3db2b279548a01e/1469127908585/SS_Impacts.pdf
Warren J. (2016, January 1). SpeakUP! Young women share powerful stories from their own lives. https://muep.mau.se/handle/2043/20968
Biographies
Mariya Taher, MSW, MFA, was named one of the six experts on female genital cutting (FGC) to watch by NewsDeeply.com. She has worked in anti-gender violence for over a decade in research, policy, program development, and direct service. She received her Master of Social Work from San Francisco State University in 2010 where she pursued a thesis, “Understanding Female Genital Cutting in the United States.” In 2015, she cofounded Sahiyo, an internationally recognized, award-winning organization to empower Asian communities to end FGM/C. Mariya also sits on the U.S. End FGM/C Network steering committee. In 2019, Muslim American Leadership Alliance awarded her their storytelling award for pioneering work to bring about the abandonment of FGC. She is a prolific writer with work in NPR, Ms. Magazine, HuffPost, Brown Girl Magazine, Solstice Literary Magazine, and more.