A survivor’s journey after female genital mutilation

A survivor’s journey after female genital mutilation

Leyla Hussein is an anti-FGM activist, psychotherapist, ‘Strong Voice’ of Amnesty International’s END FGM European Campaign and co-founder of Daughters of Eve, a charity dedicated to ending gender-based violence including female genital mutilation. We spoke with Leyla last week about her experiences of FGM and how women and young girls can be best protected. To celebrate Blog Action Day 2013, we are promoting her story on our blog space:

“I only became aware of how much I’d been affected psychologically by female genital mutilation when I fell pregnant. I was severely depressed and I hated being vaginally examined; it was my worst nightmare. And I remember the doctors wondering: why is she so scared

I realized later it was my body experiencing flashbacks, reminding me of what had happened to me when I was six……”

Leyla’s story was originally published by the Independent on 11 October 2013. The full text can be accessed here. To find out more about the work Amnesty International does in protecting young girls and women, visit the END FGM campaign website.