Masooma Ranalvi
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Masooma Ranalvi is an activist for the ending of female genital mutilation (FGM) in India.
She is the founder of We Speak Out,[1] an organization dedicated to helping Dawoodi Bohra women escape or heal from female genital mutilation. Ranalvi is a part of the Dawoodi Bohra Shi'a Muslim community in western India.[2] She shares her personal experience with FGM to open discourse on violence against women, sexual harassment, and sexism within traditional norms.[3] Her agenda is to create and expand a platform for other women to openly discuss, and politically fight against, female genital mutilation.
Her Story
[edit]In 2015, Ranalvi shared her story on WhatsApp, soon after starting the We Speak Out movement. Ranalvi was cut at the age of seven in her village in India.[2] One day, Ranalvi's grandmother took her to an old building where a woman performed female genital mutilation on her. In this community, FGM is a traditional custom based in the egalitarianism within the Muslim religion.[2]
Activism
[edit]Ranalvi is the founder of We Speak Out.[1] Working with the group, Sahiyo,[4] Ranalvi created an online petition to stop female genital mutilation in the Bohra community that received over one hundred thousand signatures.[5] Ranalvi's work also focuses on the mental health of FGM survivors.[6] The organization's mission is to outwardly address India's government for a policy ban on FGM in the Bohra community, and extend this nationwide.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Masooma Ranalvi – Fighting The Odds Of Female Genital Cutting In India". Life Beyond Numbers. 28 April 2020. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
- ^ a b c "Opinion: I Was Circumcised When I Was a Girl of 7". NDTV.com. Retrieved 2021-03-31.
- ^ Sahiyo (2018-11-05). "Aarefa Johari and Masooma Ranalvi discuss FGC at We the Women Bangalore". SAHIYO. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
- ^ "SAHIYO". SAHIYO. Retrieved 2021-03-31.
- ^ "Muslim Women and the Challenge of Religion in Contemporary Mumbai". Economic and Political Weekly. 52 (42–43): 7–8. 2015-06-05.
- ^ Cousins, Sophie (2016-05-17). "Health workers should reverse FGM procedures by deinfibulation, WHO says". BMJ. 353: i2788. doi:10.1136/bmj.i2788. ISSN 1756-1833. PMID 27189752. S2CID 40699140.
- ^ "WeSpeakOut: For Women's Rights". www.wespeakout.org. Retrieved 2021-04-02.