The FGM safeguarding women and children conference hosted by the met police on Friday 14th February 2014 was an amazing conference which highlighted the tragedy that was FGM. The conference had guest speakers who had been victims of FGM and shared their emotional and traumatic stories. The conference was set up in order to raise awareness of the horrors of FGM. Around about 70 people attended and the event was a success with achieving an impact within the local community. One of the key speakers was a victim of FGM and told us about her story. She told us that her family and her had once gone on a road trip to a village where some of her relatives had lived. While they where driving there she and her sister were singing one of their favourite songs, which was a traditional African song. When they got to the village her sister was taken away by some of her relatives and she didn’t think anything of it. When it became dark she began to ask her mother where her sister went, her mother told her that she was staying with relatives. The truth, however, was that her sister was having FGM performed on her. The next day she found out that her sister had died of blood loss from the procedure. This horrifying story further illustrated what was clearly plain, FGM is a disgusting outdated act which people need to be aware of. The guest speaker then gave us a performance of the song that she and her sister had been singing in the car which she said had a large significance to her. The Met police which hosted the event also gave a talk on the punishment for the crime of FGM and it’s consequences. All in all the event was hard hitting and was a success in informing the community about FGM. However, we still have a way to go before the practice becomes extinct in our society.
Wadaag Nation Aid 