Award-winning writer, activist, and psychotherapist Farzana Doctor will be speaking at Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) on International Women’s Day. Feminist Fiction as Resistance: a conversation with Farzana Doctor will be hosted by Dr. Asma Sayed, associate vice-president, the Office of Anti-Racism at KPU and Canada Research Chair in South Asian Literary and Cultural Studies.
Doctor is the author of four novels, and she is the writer behind Dear Maasi, a new sex and relationship advice column for survivors of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C).
“This year, we will recognize Farzana Doctor’s work, especially her novel Seven, which speaks to violence against women. In Seven, Doctor discusses the day-to-day sexual, psychological, emotional, and physical consequences that women subjected to female genital cutting live through. We hope to shine light on this issue,” says Sayed.
There is a vibrant and strong movement focused on ending FGM/C by 2030, says Doctor.
“Given that this is only seven years away, I think more governments worldwide, including Canada, need to take the issue seriously and create national action plans to address it,” she adds. “This means comprehensive support services for survivors and prevention programs for potential victims and training for helping and legal professionals.”
Doctor says her first goal when writing Seven was to create an enjoyable novel full of quirky characters, humour and an interesting plot.
“But it also has a message about women's resistance on individual, family and community levels and how all of us need to work together to fight patriarchy,” she adds.
The free event will take place online March 8. Sayed hopes people will learn about an issue that she says is not discussed widely in society.
“There is a perception that female genital cutting is an old and outdated practice and that it no longer impacts women in our society. However, as this event will highlight, it is very much a contemporary practice, and we need to work to dismantle such harmful patriarchal practices.”