Sahiyo U.S.: United Against Female Genital Cutting

Sahiyo is supporting the Justice for Girls: Ending FGM/C and Child Marriage in a Generation Global Convening & Festival, taking place September 2–4, 2026, in Naivasha, Kenya.

This global, survivor-led convening will bring together survivors, grassroots activists, advocates, policymakers, funders, youth leaders, and movement builders working to end female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and child, early, and forced marriage. The gathering creates an opportunity for people working across regions and sectors to connect, share strategies, strengthen collaboration, and advance coordinated action.

Sahiyo’s support is helping ensure that survivor leaders and frontline advocates can participate meaningfully in this important global gathering. Our contribution includes support for participant accommodations and other convening-related needs, helping reduce financial barriers to participation for movement leaders who might otherwise be unable to attend.

Why This Matters

Millions of girls continue to face FGM/C and child marriage, harmful practices and forms of gender-based violence that can have lifelong consequences for their health, wellbeing, education, economic opportunities, and ability to exercise bodily autonomy. At the same time, organizations working to address these harmful practices face significant challenges, including limited and unpredictable funding, shrinking civic space, and growing opposition to gender justice and human rights.

The Justice for Girls convening responds to this moment by creating space for collective strategy and action. Importantly, the gathering centers the leadership and lived experience of survivors and impacted communities rather than treating them solely as beneficiaries of change.

Bringing diverse stakeholders together can help strengthen relationships across movements, connect grassroots leaders with funders and policymakers, share approaches that have demonstrated promise, and build greater alignment around the resources and systemic changes needed to end FGM/C and child marriage within a generation.

Sahiyo's Contribution

Sahiyo is supporting the Justice for Girls Convening & Festival as an organizing partner, helping coordinate the planning and implementation of this global gathering in Naivasha, Kenya.

Through this role, Sahiyo is helping create the infrastructure needed for a diverse group of survivors, advocates, policymakers, funders, youth leaders, and movement builders to come together, build relationships, exchange knowledge, and develop collective strategies for advancing justice for girls.

Sahiyo's involvement reflects our commitment to strengthening survivor-led and grassroots movements addressing FGM/C and related forms of gender-based inequality. By helping coordinate this global gathering and facilitate resources to support participation, we are contributing to a space where those closest to the issues can shape the priorities, strategies, and investments needed for lasting change.

Expected Impact

Through this support, Sahiyo expects to contribute to:

• Increased participation of survivor leaders and frontline advocates in a global movement-building space.
• Stronger connections and collaboration among organizations and activists working across regions and sectors.
• Greater visibility for survivor-led approaches to ending FGM/C and child marriage.
• Increased opportunities for grassroots leaders to connect with policymakers, funders, and other decision-makers.
• Sharing of knowledge, strategies, and promising practices across movements and geographic contexts.
• Greater alignment around the resources, advocacy, and systemic changes needed to accelerate progress toward ending FGM/C and child marriage.

The convening will also provide an important platform for the introduction of a new pooled fund designed to support the global movement to end FGM/C and advance justice for girls. The fund will aim to direct additional resources to survivor- and frontline-led organizations and strengthen the broader movement’s capacity to create lasting change.

Looking Ahead

Following the convening, Sahiyo will continue to build on the relationships, learning, and collaborations strengthened through this gathering. We anticipate that participation will help create new opportunities for partnership, advocacy, resource mobilization, and survivor-led movement building.

Sahiyo will also document key lessons and connections emerging from the convening and consider how these can inform our ongoing work to support communities impacted by FGM/C and advance survivor-centered approaches to prevention, advocacy, and systems change.

The Justice for Girls convening represents an important opportunity to bring together people who are already creating change in their communities and connect them with the resources, relationships, and decision-makers needed to expand that work. Sahiyo is proud to contribute to making this space more accessible to the survivors and grassroots leaders at the heart of this movement.

Links:

• Justice for Girls Website