2016 brings with it hope. A hope I share with hundreds of my Bohra sisters. Last year towards the end of 2015 we embarked on a campaign. It was to speak out against a repressive ritual practiced in my community known as FGM or Khatna. When I spoke out and shared my traumatizing experience of being circumcised when I was a 7 year old child, I received spontaneous support from other women in my community who had undergone similar experiences. Our mutual need and desire to share experiences, thoughts, views, ideas on FGM led to the formation of a forum called Speak out on FGM. The petition on Change.org to End FGM was part of our effort to mobilize support and to draw attention of the world to our cause and to appeal to the Indian Government to ban this practice. The last 2 weeks I have spent in my birthplace, Mumbai meeting and interacting with several Bohra women. Like the story of young Farida Kapasi, who teaches in a college in Mumbai, just talking about her FGC experience she broke into a cold sweat and started shivering. The horrific experience she had when she underwent circumcision has stayed with her decades later. The story I hear of Rehana Tinwala was heart rending. Rehana’s circumcision procedure went horribly wrong and the result has been traumatic life -long. Rehana has not been able to share intimacy with her husband and this has affected her married life. I met 10 year old Zainub Unwla, who had been circumcised 2 years ago. It was painful to see this innocent child and I just felt angry that why have we not been able to stop this practice to date. I also came across several brave women who had opposed the traditional pressures and have taken a firm stand against circumcising their young daughters. Nishreen Saif has two daughters aged 4 and 6 and she with the support of her husband has taken a stand against circumcising her girls. Sakina Habib a cousin of mine, confessed that her granddaughters had not been circumcised. Educated and well informed women and men are taking a stand against FGM. But the mass of bohras still blindly follow the practice. (All the names mentioned of the Bohras above have been changed to protect their identities) A law banning FGM will act as a solid deterrent and strengthen our efforts to mobilize the community in stopping the practice of FGM. I renew my appeal to our readers to sign the petition, and if you have please circulate it around to your friends.