Medias & FGM
Podcasts that raise awareness on FGM
Podcasts are digital audio content available to the listener whenever and wherever they want by streaming or downloading it to a phone or other media device. When podcasts were invented in the early 2000s there were only a few thousand recordings available. Today podcasts have grown to become a big player among more traditional media like radio or tv. There are millions of podcasts available on a range of topics.
Podcasts have the potential to be an important tool for social change, including on the issue of FGM. They can make expertise and information easily accessible and available to the listener and provide space for people affected by FGM to share their first-hand experiences. Not only can podcasts raise our understanding of the topic but they can also contribute to changing hearts and minds and boost engagement.
Below we have gathered podcasts in English that address the topic of Female Genital Mutilation. Some have FGM as the main topic of the series, others have included one or several episodes on FGM within podcasts addressing broader issues such as sexual and reproductive health and rights, feminism or sexuality.
1. Scarlet Udaan Podcast – raising awareness on FGM
“Scarlet Udaan is a global youth-based organisation that aims to raise awareness on Female Genital Cutting. It is estimated by the World Health Organisation that 200 million females around the world have undergone FGM/C. Every 11 seconds, one girl is at the risk of undergoing FGC. The name Scarlet Udaan, comes from the word ‘Scarlet’- a brilliant red colour which signifies the strength in one’s womanhood; and the word ‘Udaan’- is a Hindi word which means ‘to soar’ or ‘to fly’: It symbolises freedom and the limitless possibilities that exist for an individual. Together, we can end FGC.”
Scarlet Udaan proposes interviews with activists and authors as well as thematic episodes on health or intersectionality.
2. End FGM Podcast: activists working to end FGM in Kenya and beyond
The End FGM podcast features people working in individual and organizational capacities in Kenya and beyond. They share their experiences, successes, failures and lessons learnt in the Anti-FGM Campaign.
In each episode, Jeremiah Kipainoi interviews an anti-FGM activist.
3. The Heart – Mariya’s story
“The Heart is an artistic audio project dealing with intimacy and humanity. Funded in 2014, The Heart is composed by a community of badass columnists, radio producers, artists realising personal documentaries talking about their body and their love life.”
In one episode of The Heart, Mariya shares her story to discover her sexuality after undergoing FGM.
4. Learn on the go: the Community Care – podcast Female genital mutilation (FGM)
The Learn on the go is a Community Care Inform podcast. In one episode, the journalists interview two experts on FGM – Sonita Pobi, head of training at the UK National FGM Centre and Dr Comfort Momoh -an FGM and public health specialist with extensive experience of holistic, women-centred care. They were asked to summarise current research and explain what social workers can learn from it.
5. Public health: female circumcision has no place in healthcare
The Malay podcast Public Health published an episode that explored FGM – which is widely carried out in Malaysia. The podcast discusses the medicalisation of the practice, why it is harmful to girls and women, and what are the social and cultural barriers to ending the practice.
6. The Harms of Female Genital Mutilation (ft. Farzana Doctor)
In this podcast, the Caffeinated Brown Girl Podcast invited Farzana doctor who is an activist, psychotherapist and Toronto-based author. They discussed Farzana’s new book Seven which explains a secretive practice of FGM called Khatna in her community. “It explores and teaches the reader about the practice of Khatna in a real way in a fictional setting and how it relates to broader patriarchal issues meant to control women’s bodies and sexuality.”
7. Female Genital Mutilation with Farzana Doctor – Let’s talk about it with Taylor Nolan
“Taylor is joined by Farzana Doctor, a writer, psychotherapist, and activist who is fighting against female genital mutilation. As a student at the Modern Sex Therapy Institue Ph.D. in Clinical Sexology program, Taylor was struck by Farzana Doctor’s presentation on FGM. In this episode, learn what FGM is, where it happens, who does it, and how to be an ally to survivors.”
8. Sex with Dr. Jess Episode 197: Somatic Therapy, Sexual Healing & FGM/C
In the podcast series Sex with Dr. Jess podcast, Farzana doctor joined the discussion to share her story as a survivor and an activist and “discusses the role the body can play in healing”. She also sheds light on FGM that occur around the world and they discuss “somatic therapy, labiaplasty, and the perils of white saviorism as well as her journey of healing post trauma”.
9. How to Inspire a Movement through Storytelling with Farzana Doctor
“Farzana Doctor is working to ban female genital cutting in her Dawoodi Bohra community. In her latest book, Seven, Farzana blends beautiful storytelling with social justice, using the pages of Seven to tell the story of FGM and its impact on the communities where it is practiced. She is a tireless volunteer and activist using her creative abilities to help build a movement that protects vulnerable women and girls across the globe.”
Do you know other podcasts on this topic? Share them with us!
Please find the list of podcasts in French here
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