by VALENTINA A. MMAKA
Three members of the Bohra community in Australia were recently convicted for performing FGM on two little sisters, bringing to global attention continued existence of the condemned practice among this global community whose origins is India. Five Bohra women are working hard to end this practice, as they discuss in this interview.
INTRODUCTION
It was little known, until recently, that Female Genital Mutilation is practiced also in India. The only known community who performs it is the Dawoodi Bohra, a sub-sect of Ismaili Shia Islam, who trace their roots back to the Fatimid Dynasty of Yemen in the 11th century. It is estimated that its population is between one and two million, half of whom live in India and the rest in the diaspora. A sizeable community lives in East Africa.
One of the traditions that the Bohras carry is khatna, Female Genital Mutilation. Normally performed on girls at the age of 7, khatna is meant to moderate a woman’s sexual urges preventing her from having pre-marital or extra-marital sexual affairs.
Known as a well-educated community that empowers women as well, the Bohras differ from other Shia Muslims, having their own practices and traditions. They are the only known Muslim community in India who perform khatna and they have never been outspoken about it, at least not much until three members of the community based in Australia were recently prosecuted for having performed FGM on two little sisters. This event has helped other Bohras to take a stand and become open to discuss the issue.
In 2012 Indian activist Tasleem started a petition on the platform Change.org to ask the late Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin, the religious leader of the community, to put a ban on khatna. Later last year another petition End FGM in India collected almost 50,000 signatures.
In 2012, Indian filmmaker Priya Goswami was awarded the National Film Award for her film A pinch of skin, about khatna within the Bohras. Later last year together with Insia Dariwala (filmaker), Aarefa Johari (journalist), Shaheeda Tavawalla Kirtane (researcher), Mariya Taher (social worker), she has co-founded Sahyio, a nonprofit organization to address FGM within the Bohra community and widely in other communities in South East Asia.
Sahyio (www.sahyio.com) is the Bohra Gujarati word for Saheliyo, meaning friends. The name reflects the organization’s mission to engage in dialogue with the community to find a collective solution towards ending khatna.
Since it started its public activity Sahyio has launched several campaigns which have raised a public dialogue on khatna among the Bohras. This February Sahyio launched Each One Reach One (EORO) campaign in which one woman reaches another one talking openly about khatna and her experience undergoing it. The campaign gained success inspiring many women worldwide to share their experiences of khatna.
More recently Sahyio promoted the I Am Bohra Photo Campaign where Bohra members are invited to post on social networks and media their photo with a placard telling the world why they would like the community to stop practicing khatna. More and more Bohras are speaking out against the practice, in the media, in blogs, on social media and, most importantly, among their friends and families.
Following the recent conviction of three Bohra members in Australia for having performed khatna on two little sisters, some Bohra Jamaat (Assembly) have explicitly stood against FGM as it violates the law of the country where they have migrated and live. Up to now the Sydney, Melbourne, London, San Jose/California, Tampa, NY, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Orange County have banned FGM. The movement is spreading. We invite all the Jamaat of every country in the world where Bohras are to ban khatna as it is a violation of human rights. The most important step would be the complete ban announced from the central headquarter in Mumbai, the Badri Mahal.
THE INTERVIEW
VALENTINA MMAKA – In 2012 Tasleem, and Indian activist, launched the first online petition to ask the entire Bohra community to sign against the khatna and address the issue to the religious leaders of the community. Can you say that has been the starting point that turned attention on khatna within the Bohra community in a public space? What has changed since then within the Bohras in India and in the diaspora?
MARIYA TAHER: Actually, women have been bringing the topic of khatna to the forefront of the Bohra community for years before Tasleem did. Mariya (one of the co-founders of Sahiyo) wrote an article discussing this movement. Here is a section from her article published in the Huffington Post:
“Over the years, there have been various attempts by Dawoodi Bohra women around the world to speak out against female genital cutting and to call for an end to this practice. One of the first studies that I am aware of regarding the practice of FGC in the Dawoodi Bohra community is “All for ‘Izzat’: The Practice of Female Circumcision Among Bohra Muslims in India.” This small case study documenting the practice was done in 1994 by Rehana Ghadially.
“In the last few years, other voices have called for action through articles in magazines, other publications, and blogs by survivors of khatna as well as their supporters. In fact, I have also written about my own experience for the Imagining Equality Project. This tradition does not just happen within Dawoodi Bohras in India, but also to diaspora groups of Dawoodi Bohras that now reside worldwide. For example, Australia recently tried their first case of female genital cutting within the Bohra community there.”
However, the petition might be the first time that social media/internet was used to draw attention to instances of FGC amongst Dawoodi Bohras. And it definitely did add to khatna being talked about within the media. I do think that since that time, social media has had a huge impact on connecting Bohra women who have underground khatna and who have questioned it or have been against it in an easier way on a global level. It has made people able to find one another and support each other. That is really how the origins of Sahiyo came about a few years ago. Now with this second petition, and with the Each One Reach One campaign, even more attention is being placed on the practice of khatna. There is dialogue occurring in larger numbers, and that is always a needed step for change within the community. The religious authorities have yet to comment on the practice, and that is unfortunate. However, we hope that too will change.
PRIYA GOSWAMI: The petition may have been the start of sorts but what actually brought in the change was the continued media attention and work on the subject; be it via films, media coverage or via women who spoke out on this subject openly, over the past five years or so.
Since you mention Tasleem, I would like to share an anecdote here: she was a very interesting starting point for me personally. In late 2011, while still searching for people who would be willing to speak to me for my documentary, I came across Tasleem. I remember her getting in touch and me persuading her to come out in the open, reveal herself and her stance against the practice. While one still doesn’t know who she is (Tasleem is her pseudonym) she kept on working under her hidden identity and connecting a lot of people to me and vice-versa. Even under anonymity, she helped connect a lot of dots by bringing people together via emails, etc. Although I am not in touch with her, I believe that she is still in touch with some of us and still continues to connect dots! In a difficult situation such as this, there are so many covert ways to continue to work towards the goal even under anonymity!
Having said that, as Mariya mentioned, there have been people who have been speaking about khatna before Tasleem’s petition. However, initiated by the petition a lot of media attention ensued which was key in changing things. I remember getting in touch with Bohra women after reading an article as early as 2011. Also having observed the course of change over the last few years now, I feel that the continued attention is the reason why this issue has suddenly gained momentum.
When my film came out in 2012, I remember so many journalists telling me that they had no idea that this happened in India too! And this is when articles had already started pouring in. It is not so today. Today if you dig up the archives, in the last few years will form a continuum comprising news articles, films, in-depth op-eds, etc.
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