When 75 men demonstrate against a film made by a group of teen girls, we see FGM denial at its peak

Men from the Somali community branded our efforts ‘pornography’, while Michael Gove thought our ideas would traumatise children in schools – they were all wrong

The first time I heard the term “FGM” I was 12 years old. The ominous acronym began cropping up in overhead conversations around me, in school corridors and on the news. I didn’t actively search for an explanation until two years later, when, at the age of 14, I used the first port of call for many teenage girls: my mum.

What I remember from the conversation that ensued was how apprehensive my mother was to open the conversation. She seemed taken aback by the fact that this topic had reared its head so soon. Nevertheless, she sat me down and began a frank conversation: she explained the term “female genital mutilation”, along with details about its practice and her own familial experiences.

Having seen the impact that it had had on family members in the past, she and my father were both staunchly against the practice, and she reassured me that it would never be imposed upon my sisters or I. However, it was common within our Somali culture and in other parts of Africa. And yes, it did also happen to girls like me in the UK – even girls that I knew. Needless to say, I was stunned. I felt that I had to take action.

Under the leadership of my inspirational teacher, Lisa Zimmerman, I began campaigning with a charity called Integrate Bristol alongside other local girls. It was a baptism of fire for my charitable career: at one point I discovered that 10 out of 11 girls in a group session we were running were victims of FGM.

The first thing to understand about the Somali community is that people don’t talk about FGM; it’s an absolute taboo. For a group of young girls to attempt to break down these barriers in a tight-knit group of people where the leaders traditionally speak for everyone was seen as unacceptable. When we produced our short film, Silent Scream, which depicted a family being torn apart by FGM, the screenings brought us a lot of unwelcome attention.

At one screening, a group of 75 men demonstrated outside – stressful and intimidating for a group of girls who ranged in age from 13 to only 14 years old. They approached the parents of one of the actors in the film, branding the film as pornographic and demanding an explanation. They accused our teachers of leading us on and brainwashing us. I believe that this was partly because men in the Somali community are in denial: it ‘isn’t a big deal’, it ‘isn’t common’, and, according to them, it doesn’t really happen in the UK. We knew otherwise.

What came next was an online petition in 2014 calling on the then Secretary of State for Education, Michael Gove, to ensure teenage children were taught about FGM ahead of their summer school holidays – the time that many in our community refer to as the ‘cutting season’. After it generated almost 235,000 signatures, he agreed to meet with us for 30 minutes. He seemed quite nervous, frustrated and at times embarrassed. He was concerned that teaching children directly about FGM would traumatise them. We knew it was the best way to protect them. He put forward compromise upon compromise, attempting to water down our propositions, but we held firm.

I believe that Gove was taken aback by how serious and determined we were in our mission. One of my friends invited him to come to our school in Bristol, so that he could see for himself how this issue could be taught, discussed and examined intelligently and sensitively by teachers and students alike. To his credit, he came with us to the classroom two days later – and was eventually convinced. Less than a week after witnessing our strategy, he wrote to every school in the country about tackling FGM.

Today, on International Youth Day, tens of thousands of young people from around the globe are campaigning as part of the action/2015 movement. We are calling on our leaders of today and tomorrow to commit to making the UN Global Goals agreement that they will sign up to in September a reality. These Global Goals offer us a future free from extreme poverty, thirst and hunger, as well as a commitment to the eradication of FGM. This is a legacy worth handing down to our generation, a legacy that we are willing to campaign and fight for. No matter how uncomfortable it might make you feel, FGM is here in the UK – and it’s our duty to talk about it.

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