FGM Survivor: Leyla Hussein's Story

Personal Experience

Leyla Hussein recounts undergoing female genital mutilation (FGM) at age seven. A neighbor’s young daughter told her what was about to happen. Hussein then heard her sister screaming and tried to run away. Family members held her down while a doctor cut her. She remembers being told to behave and that it would not hurt before she blacked out.

Hussein spent two weeks recovering, after which, she says, life returned to normal. She describes the experience as abuse and says FGM has affected her relationship with sex and her sense of her body.

How She Frames FGM

Hussein argues that discussion should focus not only on the type of FGM performed, but also on the underlying violation: adults examining and cutting children’s genitals. She says a doctor’s role can disguise abuse.

She rejects explanations that present FGM as a religious requirement, noting that, in her view, no holy book mentions it and the practice occurs among people of different religions.

Hussein says FGM is fundamentally about controlling girls’ and women’s sexuality. She cites the claim that a girl is cut every 11 seconds.

Public Response and Change

Hussein argues that FGM receives too little public outrage because it disproportionately affects Black children. Comparing the response to FGM with increased attention to sexual abuse allegations in Hollywood, she says Black women’s reports have long been ignored.

She believes FGM can end, but says doing so requires confronting oppression more broadly.

Presenter/contributor: Leyla Hussein