WeSpeakOut (WSO) is a survivor-led organization dedicated to ending the harmful practice of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C), also known as Khafz or Khatna. WSO was founded in 2015 by Masooma Ranalvi, a Bohra woman and FGM/C survivor. The organization has grown to include more than 50 women actively spreading awareness about the harmful consequences of this long-silenced practice within the Bohra community.
WeSpeakOut is at the forefront of the anti-FGM/C movement in India, reaching out to The Government, and international agencies like the United Nations and Civil Society organizations, advocating for a specific law to end the practice. Their mission is two-fold: to drive legal reform in India and to raise community awareness about the impact of this harmful practice.
WeSpeakOut aims to eradicate FGM/C by empowering survivors, educating communities, and fostering a culture of respect for women's bodily autonomy and human rights.
We Speak Out....🤣😅 Agar sach me speak karna hai to pehle Rasullah ki zamane me jao waha se Research karo or baad me sabko msg karna...... Tumhare ye choti si Research se Hum Hamare paigamber ki sunnat chor de... Or jo tumhare behkave me aake agar koi ye sunnat ke khilaf jata hai to vo ek sacha musalman ho hi nahi sakta...
Pehle to ye log Bohri jamat se hai hi nahi.... Or tum kon hote ho Hamare Rasul ki Sunnat badal ne wale.... Research karna kya sikh gaye Sunnat badalne chale..😂
इस वीडियो में एक बहोत ही ज़्यादा ज़रूरी और बड़ी बात को उल्टा करके बताया गया है जहाँ उस बच्ची की माँ यह कहती हैं कि वे खतना इसलिए भी करवाना चाहती है क्युकी वह जगह पाक साफ़ रहे और सुन्नत है... उसके साथ साथ sexual pleasure बढ़ाने के लिए भी, जबकि FGM से sexual pleasure का कोई लेना देना नहीं है, ब्लकि OVER SEXUAL DESIRES को कंट्रोल करने मे फायदा रेहता है जिससे बच्ची बालिग होने पर और शादी से पहले किसी गलत रास्ते पर या कोई नाजायज तालुकात मे मुबतिला ना होने पाए और अपनी ज़ात पर और जिस्मानी ख़्वाहिशात पर पूरा कंट्रोल रख सके। जो इस सुन्नत के खिलाफ उल्टा चलाने की कोशिश कर रहा है बेशक वो इस्लाम की राह से गुमराह है
This is a very sensitively made film as an eye opener to a lot of people who do not want to face this reality that such a practice is still prevalent in our bohra community. This is a very informative film especially to help educated bohras to overcome their own fears. Well done and congratulations to the team who has put this film together.
A strong film which shows you the truth will hurt you. Watch it and reflect. Be honest at least to your self and do not hurt your own daughter, do the right thing for her.
In the course of our work at WeSpeakOut we have met hundreds of women who have expressed the trauma they have experienced because of their khatna. Can we ignore their lived experiences? I don't think anyone has the right to belittle that.
Great video. Glad people are taking the courage to speak out based on facts and science. The sooner the community realises that this practice has no benefits, spiritually or scientifically, the better!
STORY OF A WOMAN WHO EXPERIENCED SERIOUS PHYSICAL IMPACTS OF FGM/KHATNA - Amina, 48-year-old "I had a lot of trouble. For the initial two to three days (after Khafd), I felt a burning sensation while passing urine. Even after, I kept getting urinary infections all the time right from after my first delivery. I used to also have pus in my urine. I didn't know that it was due to Khatna but now that I have heard about these impacts of Khatna from the doctor, I realize that these urine infections are because of my Khatna."
STORY OF A MOTHER WHO ALMOST LOST HER CHILD DUE TO FGM/ KHATNA -- Durraiya, 41-year-old mother "My daughter was 8 years old. I had her Khatna done by a traditional cutter. Later, when I took her home, she was bleeding like she had started her menses, like she was urinating blood. I called the circumciser & she said that sometimes kids bleed a little more but it will soon stop. She had kept some cotton and had used the blade just like the doctors do. I waited for 2 more hours but my daughter had been bleeding so heavily, the blood soaked 3 bed sheets. The circumciser kept saying apply some Soframycin. There were clots of blood that were falling out and I began to worry that my daughter may just not stop bleeding during the night. I felt that I had put my own daughter in danger by doing this procedure. I told the circumciser to come with me to Burhani hospital. Then we took my daughter to the hospital at 12:00 a.m. at night. They did her dressing and gave some medicine to stop the bleeding. Even after 4 hours the blood still did not stop till the next morning. Then I contacted a family friend who knew a surgeon who could help us. The surgeon tried to fix the skin which was extremely painful and it was burning her and it just didn't work. She bore all the pain. They had to stitch her in that place, and finally her bleeding stopped. She has healed now. However, she still struggles with a deep fear of injections and doctors and is terrified of hospitals since the incident.”
How does "the male sexual organ is different from the female genitals" make any difference when it comes to near fatal, or fatal, haemorhhaging? Boys bleed to death all over the world after khatna, including after being cut by experienced medical professionals in modern health facilities in the most well developed countries, at least this doesn't happen for girls.
STORY OF WOMEN WHO WAS SEXUALLY IMPACTED DUE TO FGM/ KHATNA Munira - a 39-year-old woman "I do feel uncomfortable when I touch where I have been cut. I feel that I do not get lubricated enough before/during the sexual act, which is why sex becomes very painful and I am waiting for the man to finish and get off me. My skin is so dry that I feel immense pain and want the act to get over as soon as possible."
If I had a daughter,it wouldn't be a hard choice for me to make because I could never do it to her it's so barbaric and so abusive and so cruel it's literally a crime against womanhood it's not a rite of passage it's trauma against women
What an excellent film- it highlights so many aspects that could sway parents to allow their child to suffer in such an unnecessary way. Thank you for raising awareness of the other option for parents of daughters in these communities
Appreciate the effort made to bring awareness. Most cases its taken for granted without realizing the harm being caused to the little girl. Almighty made us perfect.. no change is required
Thank you WeSpeakOut. This short film captures so well the pull and push of traditional cultural values vs not harming your daughter. Parents struggle with the decision as they want to be part of the community but I can categorically say that being cut serves no purpose in the community. I was cut and many of my friends were not and there is NO difference between us in the community. Girls should be able to grow up unharmed and be taught that they are perfect as they are. They don’t need to be “fixed”. Spare little girls this trauma. Let them live fulfilled lives without inflicting harm on them for traditional cultural reasons.
The purpose in the community of branding the next generation as owned by the community, is to protect the community from loss of human capital, as is the case with all cutting communities not just the Bohra. In the case of Bohra girls the physical branding is negligible if indeeed it leaves any permanent damage at all however the psychological branding remains. This is intended to inflict cognitive dissonance as a result of victims having to come to terms with their loved ones deliberately inflicting pain on them as a welcoming into the community as full members. A small minority especially when exposed to the condemnation of the practice, accept it for it is however for by far the majority it is effective and means that they have been seeded with the capacity of blind acceptance of community norms, also new additions. There may not be much difference between you and those of your peers who were spared however its very clear that generally cut people are far less critical of their community and its norms, not least cutting! This means that cut people are far less likely to find a mate from outside the community and leave it. Generally outsiders are denigrated for not being cut and portrayed as harbours of disease and therefore to be avoided as potential partners. I agree with you that girls should be spared however I wonder why only girls and not also boys? Are they and the men they become less worthy?
My daughter is 3 year old, I am not taking her for ear piercing, don't want to give her that minor pain of ear piercing, how can people do such things with their kids. 😪
FGM is a traditional practice that has been done for many years. The parents and the community do not want to harm their daughter. They love them as much as anyone else. It is the unawareness regarding the practice that leads them to do so. There is no malicious intent.
@@wespeakout7107 Again how does "the male sexual organ is different from the female genitals" make any difference when in either case this applies? Do you yourself practice male khatna? If so then you should answer the question asked, _"how can people do such things with their kids?"_
The link you provide "community file" is on a local harddrive, is this the research referred to? I'd be interested in the research you claim to have that the real reason is to control the female urges and not what the elders are saying to parents. You are aware that western women sometimes have this procedure, often called dehooding, performed with the intention of enhancing their pleasure and that there is research showing evidence of such? the question is asked : [would]_ we as right-minded, logical adults ever choose to do a medical procedure without any medical reason for doing it?_ Ritual penectomy on boys is chosen by almost all Muslim parents all over the world including all those like the Bohra with gender inclusive cutting practices. What sense does it then make to exclude boys?
Answering all your questions one by one: 1) About the ‘community file’, we have replaced it with the link to resources on our website. You will find a plethora of research on the lived experiences of women who have experienced decreased sexual pleasure and painful intercourse due to FGM. 2) Regarding the process of ‘dehooding’ performed in Western countries Doctors advocate the practice of clitoral ‘Dehooding' only when an adult woman has an excessive amount of skin covering her clitoris. The clitoris and clitoral prepuce are designed so the prepuce covers the clitoris when it is not aroused, protecting it from excess friction and damage which could lead to a loss of sensitivity, but when the clitoris becomes aroused it swells, pushing back the clitoral prepuce and exposing the clitoris. If the clitoral prepuce is too large and has excess skin, this process is hampered, and the clitoris never becomes exposed during arousal. Only then, might a doctor perform clitoral dehooding. 3) Question: Do we as right-minded, logical adults ever choose to do a medical procedure without any medical reason for doing it? Yes, it is possible and history is proof of it. For example, in the 18th & 19th centuries, when people did not have enough knowledge about mental health, ‘female hysteria’ was one of the most commonly diagnosed “disorders”. Thus, a lack of awareness can lead people to believe that a procedure is medically necessary. While we are logical-minded adults, we are also human beings who make mistakes.
@@wespeakout7107 Thanks for the response. 1. The _lived experience_ of women who have bad experiences being cut are a selective group who were not responsible for making the decision, so any evidence from this source will be anecdotal and biased. In order to research the reasons, the cutters and guardians of those cut need to be asked. In addition reasons may vary across cultures and specific forms so this would have to be within the Indian Bohra community and not generally for all cases of FGM. In the film health and hygiene; and religion and tradition are given as the reasons. When confronted with the _real intent_ this is strongly denied and the opposite is claimed. It is also implied that the elders and family also say these are the reasons and not what is claimed. The real reason is in fact to brand the new generation as belonging to the community and this is true for every cutting community. The reasons given are simply to encourage and make the practice acceptable. 2. The Bohra may consider it normal for there to be _excess skin_ that needs removing in the same way that they (and Americans) regard the male prepuce. 3. This question is from the film and there is a more obvious example in the ritual penectomy these Bohra girls' brothers suffer, along with around one third of the global male population. Strictly speaking though there is not talk of a medical procedure but a medicalised ritual.
Who said boys are excluded... Such ill information spread is sooo false.. nd not only bohra.. but every practising muslims.. are doing khatna.. irrespective of any gender .. all men ne women does this.. nd where on earth has any study published that khatna reduces the female urge .. if that so .. there are innumerable females who go for circumcision men as well as women all over the world.. becomes impotent or loose their urges..or fertility.. all the reasons are so opinion based only..nd nothing on facts..
Thank you for all the work that you have done so far & for continuing to raise voices for those who don’t even know they are being wronged until it’s too late.
@fritnat, the male sexual organ is different from the female genitals. The two cannot be compared. The reasons for performing the two are also different. Additionally, WeSpeakOut is run by survivors of female circumcision.
@@wespeakout7107 The differences are less than the differences between the different parts of the FG. Not only can they be compared but they are physiologically very similar, so much so that you would have difficulty determining whether a boy or a girl had been cut looking in the bin afterwards. The reasons given are the same ie from the film health and hygiene, tradition and religion. It was a choice WeSpeakOut made from the beginning to only be run by _survivors of female circumcision_ and not all _survivors._ You also chose to align your movement with the anti FGM campaign and so including those who are not Bohra. You say the practice of cutting girls is discriminatory and yet it is your campaign that is, while the cutting practice where girls are cut is gender inclusive with their brothers also being cut. What kind of law are you petitioning for? One which includes all children or one for only girls? One which includes all children or for Bohra only? If it is not to be discriminatory then it must include all children.
@@SJ-js6gd Ubfortunately it was just regurgiating the constructed Western feminist narrative, which fails så badly when it comes to the Bohra tradition in particular, harms the proclaimed cause far more than it benefits it. The feminist narrative construction is to make a sharp distinction between the practice on girls (barbaric and primitive Non Western, POC) and that on boys (civilised Western White). It is therefore claimed that the former is cultural in contrast to the latter being religious, clearly not the case with the Bohra. It is claimed that the former is incomparably more invasive than the latter, clearly not the case with the Bohra. It is claimed the former is performed by medically untrained very elderly cutters with very poor eyesight in insanitory conditions whereas the latter is performed safely by medially trained professionals in modern health facilities, again clearly not the case with the Bohra. Further it is claimed that the former is practiced by uneducated poor people that don't know any better and that the girls are cut to be sold into marriage as soon as possible denying them basic education, again clearly not the case with the Bohra. This last example is to support the claim that it is a matter of inequality however the case with the Bohra underscores that it is just the opposite and that it is the male exclusive Western practice that is and not the gender inclusive forms. For this reason @wespeakout7107 was unable to engage further.
