Sahiyo Communication Guide

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Specific language choices make a difference here, too. Think of the association between ‘frames’ and language mentioned earlier in this guide. Those who practice and support FGC prefer using colloquial terms like ‘khatna’ or ‘female circumcision’. They perceive it as a completely different frame from ‘Female Genital Mutilation’. On the other hand, many activists working to end FGC choose to use the term Female Genital Mutilation, believing that this term correctly identifies the harm being done to a girl child’s genitalia. But it is important to remember that terms like ‘female circumcision’ or ‘cutting’ are a relatively objective way of referring to the practice. ‘FGM’, on the other hand, shows a strong opposition to FGC and may cause someone to immediately shut down a discussion or become defensive. Guilt and Denial FGC is a topic that many community members are especially uncomfortable to talk about - even to think about. Sometimes, activists underestimate people’s ability to deny a truth that seems to implicate them or their way of life in a serious way. Guilt and denial are natural triggers for Rhetorical Mode, as people look for ways of arguing away their discomfort: 18
- “This is freedom of religion.” - “Well, that certainly hasn’t been my experience.” - “We don’t do what the ‘Africans’ do.” - “If anything, I/we are the victims because our peaceful reputation as Bohras has been tainted.” So, how can we talk about FGC, then? We have discussed, above, some of the communications ‘traps’ that activists can encounter as they try to work towards ending FGC. This does not imply that activists should stop talking about FGC (and certainly not that they should stop working to prevent FGC!). But as activists, we do need to be careful about how we discuss FGC with a wider community, and we need to think about what we are hoping to achieve in our communications. 19
Page 1 and 2: COMMUNICATION GUIDE for activists w
Page 3 and 4: TABLE OF CONTENTS Why Communication
Page 5 and 6: Effective activism relies on tellin
Page 7 and 8: META-NARRATIVES Many of the frames
Page 9 and 10: Social change is slow, hard work -
Page 11 and 12: Health Approach Often, as activists
Page 13 and 14: Experience and research demonstrate
Page 15 and 16: ‘Individual Responsibility’ App
Page 17: Reasonable Mode versus Rhetorical M
Page 21 and 22: HOW TO HAVE EFFECTIVE CONVERSATIONS
Page 23 and 24: coupled with more tentative stateme
Page 25 and 26: 3) Embrace Grey Areas A person who
Page 27 and 28: KEY TO EFFECTIVE CONVERSATIONS ON K
Page 29 and 30: Four members of the Dawoodi Bohra s
Page 31 and 32: Part of the reason for this is that
Page 33 and 34: The main reason for this is as foll
Page 35 and 36: How could that be so? In her landma
Page 37 and 38: protection offered by circumcision
Page 39 and 40: Perhaps even more striking, the WHO
Page 41 and 42: Nevertheless, the search for “hea
Page 43 and 44: I would go one step further. All ch
Page 45 and 46: Gollaher, D. L. (1994). From ritual

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