Mumbai: We The Women, a two-day conference to discuss challenges and issues concerning women, got underway at the Mehbood Studio on Saturday. Among the issues discussed was the practice of female genital mutilation, which is still practised by the Bohra community.
Speakers at the conference included Union Ministers Smriti Irani and Harsimrat Badal, Olympic medallist Sakshi Malik, film and TV producer Ekta Kapoor, Indian women’s cricket team captain Mithali Raj and ICICI Bank MD and CEO Chanda Kochhar. They elaborated upon why there are less number of women working for a living, the stigma of menstruation, ambition in women’s context, the need for more women soldiers on the frontline.
Insia Dariwala from Sahiyo, an organization which intends to end female genital mutilation in the Bohra community, shared stories of two survivors, 19-year old Mubaraka and 36-year old Zohra. The regressive practice is known as khatna in the community. Sahiyo had conducted the first-ever online survey on the issue, in which Bohra women from 17 countries participated. The survey found that 81% of respondents were subjected to khatna .
Bohra women, for long, have feared to speak about their experience and battle with this practice. Insia Dariwala said, “The challenge is that women don't come out and speak. Typically, women take a long time to come out and talk about their bodies, be it menstruation, reproductive health or this. Also, the problem has nothing to do with religion or community. We don’t want any girl to suffer.”
FGM survivors speak
Both Ms. Zohra and Ms. Mubaraka said they were victims of genital mutilation when they were seven. Ms. Mubaraka said, “After everything, I was told was to forget about it and move on, because it is a necessary practice and that it has to be done.”
Ms. Dariwala said it is considered a normal practice in the community, and is shrouded in silence. Ms. Dariwala said, “There are physical, emotional and sexual risks because of this act. It’s nothing but blatant child rights abuse.”
Ms. Mubaraka said, “Once a girl turns seven, whispers begin in the community. The code used is to ask ‘are her ears pierced?’ There is a social backlash in case a girl doesn’t undergo FGM. Peer pressure plays a great role in this.”
Ms Dariwala added, "Now that we have realized the practice is harming girls, it s important to look at it differently. This is one of the first platforms that has picked up such important and modern issues. This is a space by women and for women. That is precisely why there can't be a better space to speak about the issue I advocate so strongly.”
