SiA Magazine - Female Genital Cosmetic Surgery Vs. Female Circumcion SiA Special Edition FINAL NEW Cvr

SiA iA S A i S A i S e The Shabaka Stone And aka Ston e Shab Gra ges Warning Adults Only: Graphic Images phic Ima And Th y: Adults Onl St on e Warning aka Images Shab Gra phic And T g he Only: ults Ad Warnin And The Shabaka Stone rgery Su e etic rg ry l Cosm Su Cosm etic io etic al Genita n ry Genit le sm it n Surge Female en Fema l Co a it l ia c l Ed E it d io G Female zine Spe ia ion SiA Musings from the Editor And The Shabaka Stone Editorial & Publishing c e Spec ial ga Mag a SiA d ” ” Edit A e Spe azin A SiA M M u til ti a la te te d agaz d in N t M M u No o iA ita tilated” Mu t te ed A “ S Im t itat “Im d No e “Imitat SiA And SiA And 2017 l Edition Winter Specia ka Stone 2017 1 Edition Special e Winter 1 The Shaba aka Ston The Shab SiA And The Shabaka Stone Winter Special Edition 2017 1 Cover Photographer: Omar Rafik Fuambai Sia Ahmadu, PhD Editor-in-Chief , Co-publisher Freddy Cole “Shabaka” Co-publisher Fuambai Sia Ahmadu is editor-in-chief and co-publisher of SiA and The Shabaka Stone Magazine. She is a feminist activist and co-founder of All Women are Free to Choose (AWA-FC) a budding grassroots organization to raise awareness about the racism and sexism of anti-FGM cam- paigns as well as infringements on basic human rights and constitutional rights of circumcised girls and women worldwide. Fuambai is also an independent scholar - a medical and symbolic anthropologist by training - and some of her scholarly and popular articles can be found on her website. fuambaisiaahmadu.com Freddy Cole Shabaka is a Sierra Leonean singer/songwriter based in the U.S. His music has a Reggae and African flavor that is both authentic and compelling. Freddy took on the name Shabaka early in his career to honor the 25th dynasty Nubian King who united the Egyptian Diaspora. Freddy sees his work as a fusion of the music of the African Diaspora and as a Creole, is also a descendant of freed slaves who returned to Africa. The title track of his CD “The Black Loyalist” tells the story of former African slaves that fought for the British during the American Revolutionary War and later became the founders of Free- town the capital of Sierra Leone. Sunju Kumba Barrie Contributing Writer and Photography Susan Fontaine Graphic Designer Sunju has a passion for filmmaking and loves travelling toWest Africa, in particu- lar Sierra Leone, her country of origin. In 2007, Sunju produced and directed her first documentary “Bondo:A Journey Into Kono Womanhood”. She currently resides with her family in Washington, DC. Susan has a BFA in Graphic Design and Photography and has been in the design industry for over 15 years. Starting out in newspapers then progressing to package design and making her latest ascent to art director of a major magazine, Susan is well- rounded and experienced in the technical, commercial and fine arts aspects of design. She is a global artistic designer who clearly has a passion for what she does. Denise Noe Contributing Writer Denise is a severely disabled yet tenacious writer living in the United States. She has been published in “The Atlanta Journal- Constitution,” “The Humanist,” crime- magazine.com, “The Literary Hatchet,” and other venues. 2 SiA And The Shabaka Stone Winter Special Edition 2017 Omar Rafik Contributing Photographer Omar Rafik, www.lifedepicted.com Let US DEPICT YOUR Life I n honor of our two ongoing campaigns, Aint’ I A Woman and Imitated Not Mutilated, I welcome you to this SiA Magazine Special Edition on Female Genital Cosmetic Surgeries. This short booklet is a pre- lude to a more comprehensive coverage of this topic, which will be published later this year. Because of the graphic content, this teaser issue will be accessible mainly through our online host, Joomag, with only a limited number of copies printed for our campaign seminars and workshops only. This Special FGCS issue is for all women and adolescent girls who want to know more about female genital alterations - especially practitioners of both female circumcision and female genital cosmetic surgeries. By engaging in open conversations about what these bodily practices actually entail, we can be more effective in modifying those practices that may be harmful to the long term health of women and girls. Rather than judge and condemn using labels such as FGM, we seek positive change through affirmation and celebration of who we are. We believe women would follow best practices when they are encouraged to feel good about themselves. SiA Magazine does not recommend or endorse female genital surgeries of any type but we don’t condemn these practices either. Our mission is to empower those of us women and girls who are already circumcised (and do not see ourselves as “mutilated”) to freely embrace who we are as well as any other aspect of our cultural, religious and gender traditions we choose to uphold. Fuambai Sia Ahmadu Fuambai Sia Ahmadu Editor in Chief and Co-Publisher SiA And The Shabaka Stone Winter Special Edition 2017 3

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