What does it actually take to stop FGM before it happens?

In this episode of Changing Narratives, host Patricia Mars sits down with Domtila Chesang, grassroots advocate, co-founder of AWRA and founder of I_Rep Foundation, whose work is rooted in protecting girls at the very moment they are at risk.

From coordinating rescues in remote communities to challenging the systems that allow FGM/C and child marriage to persist, Domtila shares what this work looks like in real time — the urgency, the risks and the decisions that can change the course of a girl's life.

This conversation goes beyond awareness. It examines the tension between intervention and community trust, the structural realities that drive harmful practices, and the responsibility of global actors to support not override grassroots leadership.

We also explore her documentary Mtetezi, and how storytelling can bring us closer to the lived realities that reports alone cannot capture.

This is not a distant issue. It's happening and people like Domtila are on the frontlines, making impossible decisions every day.

Domtila's research: Exploring the persistence of FGM in West Pokot County, Kenya

In this episode of Changing Narratives, host Patricia Mars turns the spotlight on Canada — a country often missing from global discussions about female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C).

New research by Islamic Relief Canada reveals what many advocates have long known: FGM/C is happening there, both in private homes and through vacation cutting.

Joining Patricia is Warda Warsame, National Network Coordinator of the End FGM Canada Network, to unpack what these findings mean, why FGM/C remains so invisible in Canada and what it will take to move from awareness to community-led change.

Link to the new research is here.

Leave a review of the podcast here.

Donate here.

Storytelling shapes movements — but when stories involve trauma, harm, and lived experience, the way they are told can either advance justice or cause further harm.

In this episode of Changing Narratives, host Patricia Mars sits down with Mariya Taher and Amy Hill for a candid conversation on ethical storytelling within the movement to end FGM/C. Together, they unpack what it truly means to keep storytelling survivor-led, how power shows up in narrative spaces and why intention and boundaries matter just as much as visibility.

This episode explores what actually moves people from awareness to action, how storytelling can be meaningfully connected to policy and systems change and what practices help ensure that sharing stories remains healing rather than extractive. Mariya and Amy also reflect on how storytelling is evolving — especially as younger generations and digital platforms reshape how stories are told, shared and consumed.

This is a conversation about responsibility, care, and the future of narrative power in advocacy.

Link to learn more about Silence Speaks.

Link to learn more about Voices to END FGM/C

Leave a review of the podcast here.

Donate here.