Female Genital Mutilation
FGM is practiced in 29 countries around the world, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Most of these countries are in Africa – specifically North-Eastern Africa, East Africa and West Africa, but the practice is wide spread in the Middle East, South-East Asia, and among immigrants in Europe and North America. The WHO estimates that over 150 million world wide are affected by FGM.
There are varying levels of FGM, the least serious being the removal of the clitoris, and the most severe being the complete removal of all external genitalia, and the remaining parts of the outer lips are sewn shut, leaving a small hole for urination. This is referred to as “infibulation”. All levels of FGM are extremely dangerous for a woman, and lead to serious health concerns and pain throughout her life. Sexual intercourse and menstruation for these girls can be extremely painful, and child birth is often a fatal event, as her stitches must ripped open.
The practice is so embedded in so many cultures, that should a mother decide to let her little girl skip this painful ritual, she would be shunned by society, and never able to marry. This would bring shame to her family, apparently a far worse fate for a woman than having her genitals sawed off. A circumcised girl remains “clean” and “untouched” until her wedding day.
Sadly, FGM is not confined to practicing countries, as immigrants have brought this aspect of their culture to new homes in Europe and North America. There are reports of families in the UK flying in doctors to complete this ritual on their daughters, or, worse, performing it themselves. In 1982, Sweden became the first Western Country to ban FGM. As of 2013, an anti-FGM legislation has been signed by 33 countries, including Canada. Canada became the first country to recognize FGM as a form of persecution when it granted refugee status to a Somali woman who was fleeing with her young daughter to avoid FGM.
However, it is believed that around 100,000 girls in the UK are currently at risk of undergoing FGM.
Waris moved to London, England as a teenager, where she eventually became the face of Revlon, and a world-renowned supermodel. And she has put her fame to good use, becoming a vocal campaigner against the practice of FGM. In 1997, Waris opened up about her experiences in an interview with Marie Clair, and hasn’t stopped the fight since, despite receiving death threats from the Somali community. She has been appointed UN Special Ambassador, and has launched her own foundation, Desert Flower Foundation, to support survivors of FGM, as well as raise awareness and lobby policy makers against this practice.
In Waris’s native Somalia, approximately 98% of women have been affected by FGM.
Sabrina Rubli