2 years ago we had a heated discussion on female genital mutilation on Soul Sisters Pakistan. A few women were outraged and defensive as it was a common practice in their families, while so many of us were shunning it.
When I was about to go to bed that day my phone beeped. (1/3)

I had received a message from a girl who had gotten it as a child & thought it was normal till now. She said she had been crying all day under the realization of what had happened to her & that when she had a daughter she would ensure never to let HER go through the same. (2/3)

I cried after responding to her. Her message was my silver lining. A jolting realization that these conversations we were having, often dismissed by outsiders as as "random heated arguments" between women, were actually conversations that were changing people's lives. (3/3)