How Bohra women are campaigning to outlaw female genital mutilation

Delhi-based publisher Masooma Ranalvi says that the fear of being excommunicated is one of the most persistent reasons behind the silence that exists around female genital mutilation (FGM) in the Dawoodi Bohra community. “That is a huge fear, and it is a real one. One faces total social boycott,” says Masooma. 

Ranalvi is one of the most vocal petitioners in a campaign that aims to pass a statute to stop the horrific ritual. The petition, which went up on change.org on  December 1 had gathered over 18,000 supporters in a span of 10 days. The campaign is significant because this is the first time Bohra women have come out in the open, risking excommunication. FGM is a secretive activity, and is usually conducted on girls below ten. At most times, there is no anesthesia. 

View the petition here

The campaign is addressed to the women and child development (WCD) ministry, the social justice ministry, and the law ministry. The petitioners, a group of 17 women, are from the Bohra community, who are about a million in India. This is however not the first campaign; two years ago a woman came up with a campaign. But, fearing ostracism she did not identify herself.    

53-year-old peace activist Irfan Engineer, who is from the community, is not connected to the present campaign against FGM, but he supports the cause and says that most men in the close-knit community barely know what happens. “Till a few years ago, even I thought that it was Africa’s problem. Nobody knows really what the men think, because no one speaks to them,” says Engineer. He says that men must come to the table, and actively participate to put an end to this. 

​A woman from the community, who wished to remain anonymous, said that despite her husband urging her to not let their daughter go through the pain. "My husband was very well informed about it. He made me aware of the repercussions but I was in such high pressure that I put my daughter through it,"she says. "I feel extremely sorry."

Ranalvi says that she appeals to the broader community in India to help pass a statutory legislative. “India is a signatory to a 2012 UN Resolution that outlaws FGM. The WHO calls it a violation of human rights,” says Ranalvi. “We must work on a legislation that outlaws this, only then can we go to the women to tell them.”

A Pinch of Skin Trailer from priya goswami on Vimeo.

A Pinch of Skin is a national award winning documentary on the practice of Female Genital Mutilation in India. 
In the myth of moderating female sexuality, marking pre-adoloscent girls with a memory that they can never fully come to terms with.