Testimonials
That topic is destined to people that have been victims of MGF and want to leave here the testimony, or for those that want transcribe depositions already exposed of other women.
"With me, it happened to the five years", reminds Waris Dirie in her autobiography, entitled "Desert Flower", exactly the translation of her name.
Waris, that today lives in New York, became militant in 1997, after having consecrated as model (among their works, it was known the campaign of the perfume Allure, of Chanel). The passages to proceed were removed of her book.
"In the night previous to my circumcision, the family filled me with attentions and I received an extra portion in dinner. The day was clearing up when I heard the gypsy approach. My mother put me on a stone, sat down behind me and, with the open legs, one on each side of my body, pulled my head for her chest. I hugged their thighs and she gave me a piece root to bite. I was paralyzed by the fear. The gypsy turned her bag, from where removed a broken razor blade. There was dry blood on the thread. She spit in the sheet, drying in the dress. Mom tied a sale in my eyes.
Soon afterwards, I felt my meat being cut. I heard the razor blade sawing my skin. I didn't move, therefore knew that the more made, longer it would be the torture. Unhappily, my legs began to shake and to be shaken without control and I prayed: 'Please, my God, make that to end soon'. And happened, therefore I fainted.
When I recovered the senses, it was without sale. The gypsy put thorns to do holes in my skin, which put a white thread to sew me. The pain was so intense that I wanted to die... "
"With me, it happened to the five years", reminds Waris Dirie in her autobiography, entitled "Desert Flower", exactly the translation of her name.
Waris, that today lives in New York, became militant in 1997, after having consecrated as model (among their works, it was known the campaign of the perfume Allure, of Chanel). The passages to proceed were removed of her book.
"In the night previous to my circumcision, the family filled me with attentions and I received an extra portion in dinner. The day was clearing up when I heard the gypsy approach. My mother put me on a stone, sat down behind me and, with the open legs, one on each side of my body, pulled my head for her chest. I hugged their thighs and she gave me a piece root to bite. I was paralyzed by the fear. The gypsy turned her bag, from where removed a broken razor blade. There was dry blood on the thread. She spit in the sheet, drying in the dress. Mom tied a sale in my eyes.
Soon afterwards, I felt my meat being cut. I heard the razor blade sawing my skin. I didn't move, therefore knew that the more made, longer it would be the torture. Unhappily, my legs began to shake and to be shaken without control and I prayed: 'Please, my God, make that to end soon'. And happened, therefore I fainted.
When I recovered the senses, it was without sale. The gypsy put thorns to do holes in my skin, which put a white thread to sew me. The pain was so intense that I wanted to die... "
A woman of the east of Africa that lives in London, since 13 years ago, tell that had the tip of the clitoris removed by the family when was 7 years old.
"You block her mind, doesn't think that is a great problem. But the more you think regarding the subject, more you say 'My God, what did with me! ' Now I can relate a lot of things with the problem of the past", the victim says, that didn't want to identify.
She tells that had a difficult pregnancy. "When it was pregnant of my daughter, it didn't get to relax on a table to have an exam, and came traumatic memories of the mutilation. If somebody suffers any violence type, the memory of the happened is always bad."
"You block her mind, doesn't think that is a great problem. But the more you think regarding the subject, more you say 'My God, what did with me! ' Now I can relate a lot of things with the problem of the past", the victim says, that didn't want to identify.
She tells that had a difficult pregnancy. "When it was pregnant of my daughter, it didn't get to relax on a table to have an exam, and came traumatic memories of the mutilation. If somebody suffers any violence type, the memory of the happened is always bad."
Recently, Cameroon's female legislators could be found under a tree in the garden of the country's parliament, listening to Hannah Kwenti: 17, the mother of a five-month-old baby girl -- and a victim of female genital mutilation (FGM).
"I come from Mamfé (in south-western Cameroon), where I was circumcised in January after the birth of Ruth," she told IPS. "My parents-in-law insisted on it, believing that if it was not done, I could one day be unfaithful to Peter (her husband)."
"During the excision I lost a lot of blood, and while the pain was convulsing me the woman there (the circumcisor) said, 'Stop crying, your case is still tolerable. There are some for whom we remove all the stuff there'."
"I wished to die, but God did not want this. I advise against (FGM) for your daughter," Kwenti added, holding her head in her hands.
Official figures put Cameroon's population at about 17 million inhabitants, of which 52 percent are women.
There is no law against circumcision in Cameroon, even though the right to health is protected by the constitution and the penal code.
According to Abunaw, the 20 female legislators (the country has 180 parliamentarians) will conduct a visit to communities next month to meet circumcisors and their victims, as well as civil society organisations -- this ahead of drawing up the first-ever law on FGM. The legislation could be submitted to parliament before the end of the year
"I come from Mamfé (in south-western Cameroon), where I was circumcised in January after the birth of Ruth," she told IPS. "My parents-in-law insisted on it, believing that if it was not done, I could one day be unfaithful to Peter (her husband)."
"During the excision I lost a lot of blood, and while the pain was convulsing me the woman there (the circumcisor) said, 'Stop crying, your case is still tolerable. There are some for whom we remove all the stuff there'."
"I wished to die, but God did not want this. I advise against (FGM) for your daughter," Kwenti added, holding her head in her hands.
Official figures put Cameroon's population at about 17 million inhabitants, of which 52 percent are women.
There is no law against circumcision in Cameroon, even though the right to health is protected by the constitution and the penal code.
According to Abunaw, the 20 female legislators (the country has 180 parliamentarians) will conduct a visit to communities next month to meet circumcisors and their victims, as well as civil society organisations -- this ahead of drawing up the first-ever law on FGM. The legislation could be submitted to parliament before the end of the year
"I am XXX, a 23 year old Somali refugee now residing in America. I was circumcised as a young girl while still residing in Somalia. Even until very recently i was made to beleive that it was 'good' to be circumcised and as i result i had never fully understood the consequences of this evil practice. Recently i started my university education and have moved out of my parents' house. As a result of this new found freedom i started exploring my sexuality. I thought sex was supposed to be this amazing experience but for me it was extremely uncomfortable and unsatisfactory. I feel like i have done everything to educate myself and escape from the shackles of a restrictive and patriarchal culture but lately i have realised that i've been disarmed by them, possibly for life. I feel like my own parents, my own people, my own culture has failed me. They have taken away from me what is essential to me for my self-identity, my womanhood. I see other women and i feel like i'm lacking something. I am constantly preoccupied by this thought and this has started affecting my psychological health. I do not know who to turn to for help. I came upon your website by chance and it gave me some hope."
Source:http://www.clitoraid.org/news.php?item.4.1
Source:http://www.clitoraid.org/news.php
"My name is Wynshet. I am 13. I have not had the opportunity to go to school. My family never sent me. I was three when I was circumcised. There was so much bleeding. I did not recover for a long time. The pain went on and on.
My parents arranged a marriage when I was 12 to a man of 30. I cried at the ceremony. My family shouted and told me I had reduced my family’s honour. They made me go to my husband’s house. He forced me to have sexual intercourse, but not where it is usually done. There was so much bleeding. Even a week later blood was pouring through my clothes. My relatives say this but told me to go back to my husband."
http://www.womankind.org.uk/how-your-donation-helps.html
My parents arranged a marriage when I was 12 to a man of 30. I cried at the ceremony. My family shouted and told me I had reduced my family’s honour. They made me go to my husband’s house. He forced me to have sexual intercourse, but not where it is usually done. There was so much bleeding. Even a week later blood was pouring through my clothes. My relatives say this but told me to go back to my husband."
http://www.womankind.org.uk/how-your-don
I allways will hear the sound of the scissors cutting the flesh between my legs." Soraya Mire
http://www.nocirc.org/publish/9-93.pdf#search=%22female%20genital%20mutilation%20donations%22
http://www.nocirc.org/publish/9-93.pdf#s
I was genitally mutilated at the age of ten. I was told by my late grandmother that they were taking me down to the river to perform a certain ceremony, and afterwards I would be given a lot of food to eat. As an innocent child, I was led like a sheep to be slaughtered.
Once I entered the secret bush, I was taken to a very dark room and undressed. I was blindfolded and stripped naked. I was then carried by two strong women to the site for the operation. I was forced to lie flat on my back by four strong women, two holding tight to each leg. Another woman sat on my chest to prevent my upper body from moving. A piece of cloth was forced in my mouth to stop me screaming. I was then shaved.
When the operation began, I put up a big fight. The pain was terrible and unbearable. During this fight, I was badly cut and lost blood. All those who took part in the operation were half-drunk with alcohol. Others were dancing and singing, and worst of all, had stripped naked.
I was genitally mutilated with a blunt penknife.
After the operation, no one was allowed to aid me to walk. The stuff they put on my wound stank and was painful. These were terrible times for me. Each time I wanted to urinate, I was forced to stand upright. The urine would spread over the wound and would cause fresh pain all over again. Sometimes I had to force myself not to urinate for fear of the terrible pain. I was not given any anaesthetic in the operation to reduce my pain, nor any antibiotics to fight against infection. Afterwards, I haemorrhaged and became anaemic. This was attributed to witchcraft. I suffered for a long time from acute vaginal infections."
Hannah Koroma, Sierra Leone
http://www.orkut.com/CommMsgs.aspx?cmm=3205&tid=2467950755912679363&start=1
Once I entered the secret bush, I was taken to a very dark room and undressed. I was blindfolded and stripped naked. I was then carried by two strong women to the site for the operation. I was forced to lie flat on my back by four strong women, two holding tight to each leg. Another woman sat on my chest to prevent my upper body from moving. A piece of cloth was forced in my mouth to stop me screaming. I was then shaved.
When the operation began, I put up a big fight. The pain was terrible and unbearable. During this fight, I was badly cut and lost blood. All those who took part in the operation were half-drunk with alcohol. Others were dancing and singing, and worst of all, had stripped naked.
I was genitally mutilated with a blunt penknife.
After the operation, no one was allowed to aid me to walk. The stuff they put on my wound stank and was painful. These were terrible times for me. Each time I wanted to urinate, I was forced to stand upright. The urine would spread over the wound and would cause fresh pain all over again. Sometimes I had to force myself not to urinate for fear of the terrible pain. I was not given any anaesthetic in the operation to reduce my pain, nor any antibiotics to fight against infection. Afterwards, I haemorrhaged and became anaemic. This was attributed to witchcraft. I suffered for a long time from acute vaginal infections."
Hannah Koroma, Sierra Leone
http://www.orkut.com/CommMsgs.aspx?cmm=3
As a carefree six-year-old, Kady went to visit her grandmother, expecting a weekend of sweets and treats. She left with blood dripping from her wounds after a bungled circumcision carried out in a dirty toilet.
Kady is now 18 but looks no more than 13. The roughly handled genital cutting she suffered as a child seemed to stunt her growth and stopped her periods.
It is therefore no surprise that she is now firmly behind Burkina Faso’s drive to wipe out the practice, known as female genital mutilation (FGM).
Speaking to IRIN at her home in the capital, Ouagadougou, she recalled the day when she made the 40-km journey to her grandmother’s village of Sapone.
“They asked us to go round [to her grandmother] for sweets and eggs. When we arrived, three women caught me, bundled me into the toilet, pinned me down and undressed me,” Kady explained.
“I saw the knife and knew what was going to happen. I cried out, but I couldn’t find the words to speak.”
The lips of her vagina were cut and then stitched together, leaving just a small hole to allow urine and menstrual blood to escape. Then the old women made Kady jump over a fire, telling her it was part of the cure to ease the pain.
After two days, the pain had gone, but the psychological scars were still raw.
“I wouldn’t wash in front of the other kids – they laughed and teased me because I looked different down there,” she said.
Things got worse a few years later. The hole closed up completely and Kady’s medical problems began.
“Everyone got their periods and I didn’t. I wasn’t growing – all my friends towered above me. I spent the whole time feeling sad.”
It was only after her father died in 2000 that anyone thought of getting medical help for Kady. Her aunt took her to several doctors and two years ago she had an operation to repair the damage.
“Now I’m like everybody else,” she says, her face breaking into a wide smile. “I’ve even grown a bit, and the doctors say I should continue to do so.”
Kady is now 18 but looks no more than 13. The roughly handled genital cutting she suffered as a child seemed to stunt her growth and stopped her periods.
It is therefore no surprise that she is now firmly behind Burkina Faso’s drive to wipe out the practice, known as female genital mutilation (FGM).
Speaking to IRIN at her home in the capital, Ouagadougou, she recalled the day when she made the 40-km journey to her grandmother’s village of Sapone.
“They asked us to go round [to her grandmother] for sweets and eggs. When we arrived, three women caught me, bundled me into the toilet, pinned me down and undressed me,” Kady explained.
“I saw the knife and knew what was going to happen. I cried out, but I couldn’t find the words to speak.”
The lips of her vagina were cut and then stitched together, leaving just a small hole to allow urine and menstrual blood to escape. Then the old women made Kady jump over a fire, telling her it was part of the cure to ease the pain.
After two days, the pain had gone, but the psychological scars were still raw.
“I wouldn’t wash in front of the other kids – they laughed and teased me because I looked different down there,” she said.
Things got worse a few years later. The hole closed up completely and Kady’s medical problems began.
“Everyone got their periods and I didn’t. I wasn’t growing – all my friends towered above me. I spent the whole time feeling sad.”
It was only after her father died in 2000 that anyone thought of getting medical help for Kady. Her aunt took her to several doctors and two years ago she had an operation to repair the damage.
“Now I’m like everybody else,” she says, her face breaking into a wide smile. “I’ve even grown a bit, and the doctors say I should continue to do so.”
Kady hasn’t seen her grandmother since her circumcision but, if she ever bumped into her, she knows what she would say.
“I’d tell her not to do this to any more girls. It’s so dangerous, and can cause so many problems afterwards. I’d say, ‘Please grandmother, just don’t’.”
source: http://www.irinnews.org/webspecials/FGM/45981.asp
“I’d tell her not to do this to any more girls. It’s so dangerous, and can cause so many problems afterwards. I’d say, ‘Please grandmother, just don’t’.”
source: http://www.irinnews.org/webspecials/FGM/
"My name is Abay, and I’d like to tell you my story.
I was born in a small village in Ethiopia. When I was 8 years old, like most girls in my village, I was told I must undergo the rite of passage known as female genital cutting. I said "no." And I ran away from the only life I had known.
Ten years later, I returned to my desert village to work for CARE, determined to help make positive changes in my small community. With CARE’s support, I helped open a school and organize the village to build a water system and a health clinic. In a community with few resources, where one-third of our children do not survive childhood, the support and training provided by CARE made an incredible difference.
As part of my work, I also wanted to convince others that female genital cutting was a harmful practice. I had to help my community learn about the dangers so more girls would not suffer.
People in my village believed strongly in preserving female genital cutting. Opposing it was dangerous for me. But by breaking the silence, I was able to convince the elders in my village to discuss the issue with women and, eventually, to oppose the practice.
Now, women in my village take part in community decisions. Empowering women and girls has vital importance for me, and I am proud I've helped girls to have more control over their bodies and their health. Find out more about my journey by watching this short video.
We all have the power to create change, not only for those in our communities but around the world. And we all need the support of others to create a better, more secure world for everyone.
Thank you for your time and for your commitment to helping CARE."
Video:
http://www.care.org/features/flash/fgc/
I was born in a small village in Ethiopia. When I was 8 years old, like most girls in my village, I was told I must undergo the rite of passage known as female genital cutting. I said "no." And I ran away from the only life I had known.
Ten years later, I returned to my desert village to work for CARE, determined to help make positive changes in my small community. With CARE’s support, I helped open a school and organize the village to build a water system and a health clinic. In a community with few resources, where one-third of our children do not survive childhood, the support and training provided by CARE made an incredible difference.
As part of my work, I also wanted to convince others that female genital cutting was a harmful practice. I had to help my community learn about the dangers so more girls would not suffer.
People in my village believed strongly in preserving female genital cutting. Opposing it was dangerous for me. But by breaking the silence, I was able to convince the elders in my village to discuss the issue with women and, eventually, to oppose the practice.
Now, women in my village take part in community decisions. Empowering women and girls has vital importance for me, and I am proud I've helped girls to have more control over their bodies and their health. Find out more about my journey by watching this short video.
We all have the power to create change, not only for those in our communities but around the world. And we all need the support of others to create a better, more secure world for everyone.
Thank you for your time and for your commitment to helping CARE."
Video:
http://www.care.org/features/flash/fgc/
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