A Bristol teenager has received a national award for her work highlighting and campaigning about the issue of female genital mutilation.
Muna Hassan was honoured at the UK Sexual Health Awards.
She was named as the JLS young person of the year at the ceremony, where members of the pop group presented the award.
The Easton 18-year-old has been involved with the work of Bristol charity Integrate for almost five years, helping to highlight issues about female genital mutilation.
Defined by the World Health Organisation as partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, it is illegal in the UK but widely practiced in East Africa, and parts of the Middle East. Girls from some immigrant communities are operated on illegally or sent abroad for the procedure.
When Integrate started out Muna and other campaigners experienced “quite a lot of community backlash”.
“It was really weird to start off with,” she said. “My parents were fine and said it was OK to talk about it, but at the same time there were girls older than me telling me I shouldn’t be doing this.
“I found it quite hard to talk about FGM then but it is different now.
“There were only four of us when we started and there are now over 100, which is pretty cool. It is nice seeing the younger girls who were probably in Year 7 then and are now in Years 9 and 10 and are far more active and confident than they were. To see them able to speak out is a great feeling.”
Muna said that when around the world there are girls being cut every day, she feels lucky to have grown up in the UK and realises how important it is to raise awareness of the issue.
Some of the girls involved with Integrate have been advising Casualty scriptwriters about FGM and next month there will be two episodes where the issue will feature on the Saturday night drama.
Muna was unable to make the awards ceremony herself as she was at a screening of the episode.
Instead fellow campaigners Nimco Ali, of Daughters of Eve, and Efua Dorkenoo, of Equality Now and Forward, picked up the award on her behalf.
And despite being delighted that the “hot one” from JLS said her name at the awards ceremony, the teenager thinks the possibility of just one girl being protected from FGM is more important than receiving awards.
Other girls from Integrate described her as an inspiration.
Integrate was also involved with making an award-winning film, Silent Scream, which has now been viewed more than 200,000 times.
Muna is taking her A-levels and hopes to go to London to train as a midwife, so she can do more to support women affected by FGM and use her campaigning experience.