Khatna is typically performed when a girl is between 6 to 9 years of age, and is a practice carried down from mother to daughter, with usually no involvement from the male members of the family. We are currently analyzing the results of the survey and hope to release a report by May.Р”В¬ould you throw some light on the khatna tradition of the Dawoodi Bohra community? What are the most common reasons given by it to carry out and sustain the practice? Over four hundred women have taken the survey from around the world. We have also undergone a global online survey to understand the extent of the practice. Since it has been a firmly guarded РІР‚ВsecretРІР‚в„ў by everyone in the community, we would like more men and women to talk about their experiences and share their personal views on khatna, thereby encouraging others to come out and do the same.Р”В«esides our outreach through the internet, we are already disseminating information on khatna through various media channels, including newspapers, magazines and television, as well as drawing attention to this practice amongst the Dawoodi Bohra community by attending conferences and seminars. What are the major functions of Sahiyo? Along with its presence on the internet, are there also some parallel measures taken or planned outside it? Aarefa Johari as a part of SahiyoРІР‚в„ўs РІР‚СљI Am A BohraРІР‚Сњ Photo CampaignР”Р„t this moment, we are mainly focused on creating a dialogue on the practice of khatna amongst both genders through the medium of storytelling, as well as spreading awareness on the subject. There is a strong sentiment in the community that the form of РІР‚Вfemale circumcisionРІР‚в„ў practiced in the Dawoodi Bohra community is in no way related to РІР‚ВFGMРІР‚в„ў as recognised by WHO or as practiced in many African countries. Khatna is the generic term used by the Dawoodi Bohra community to refer to Type 1 FGC.

We avoid the label РІР‚ВmutilationРІР‚в„ў and use the more neutral term РІР‚Сљfemale genital cuttingРІР‚Сњ (FGC), instead. However, we understand that some communities practicing this ritual might not necessarily believe they are mutilating or harming their girls. Officially, WHO has termed all forms of female genital cutting as РІР‚ВmutilationРІР‚в„ў, and the term FGM has grown familiar among activists and communities around the world. How do you think FGM, Female Genital Circumcision and Female Genital Cutting are different? Why does Sahiyo prefer to use the last one? What, in this sense, is the significance of the term РІР‚ВkhatnaРІР‚в„ў? I interviewed the Sahiyo team, comprising of Mariya Taher, Aarefa Johari, Shaheeda Tavawalla-Kirtane,Р’В Priya GoswamiР’В and Insia DariwalaР’В about their work and about the practice of FGM in general, below are their responses along with the questions. It aims to bring to fore the values of consent,Р’В a childРІР‚в„ўs/womanРІР‚в„ўs rights over her own body and normalize female sexuality. It is dedicated to empower Dawoodi Bohra and other Asian communities to end Female Genital Cutting (FGC) and create positive social change. SahiyoР’В (the word РІР‚ВsahiyoРІР‚В is a Bohra Gujarati word for РІР‚ВsaheliyonРІР‚в„ў/РІР‚в„ўfriendsРІР‚в„ў) is a group of five powerful women, who work in dynamic fields and have come together with the primary aim ofР’В bringing an end to the practice of female circumcision/ khatna/ sunnah.

Female Genital Mutilation infographic by Pixel Initiative Every culture justifies it and legitimizes it, despite the declaration by the World Health Organisation, UNICEFand UNFPA, that it is a РІР‚Сљviolation of the human rights of girls and women.РІР‚Сњ It states that more than 200 million girls and women alive today have been cut in 30 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia where FGM is concentrated.

I try to uncover this secret through the interview of an organisation working for this issue, called РІР‚ВSahiyoРІР‚в„ў and start a more active dialogue around it.Р”Р‡emale Genital Mutilation(FGM) is one of the practices that is carried out across the globe, even today. Female Genital Mutilation is one such reality that a lot of us still refuse to acknowledge and speak about, eventually adding to the misery of a lot of women and girls. Consequently, we start living lives with selected struggles and battles, leaving out a lot of them at the same time. More often than not, we end up dissociating ourselves from the reality of the world, consciously or unconsciously. More and more people are joining the feminist movement and working on gender and we wish to bring them in the limelight, one life at a time. In this series, Women In Power, we feature women who have done groundbreaking work in the field of gender, sexuality, womenРІР‚в„ўs rights and the likes to get an insight into their lives and their work.

Dawoodi bohra fgm