'There is so much pain and shame': Female genital mutilation survivor calls for ... trends now
A survivor of female genital mutilation (FGM) calls for an end of the barbaric pratice - which is still identified in many women each year in the UK alone - and has 'no blame' for her mother who took her to a backstreet clinic aged nine.
Basma Kamel, 30, is a student at London Metropolitan University and grew up in Egypt. She was a victim of FGM at nine years old, after going on a 'summer vacation' with her mother.
Over the last seven years alone, more than 30,000 cases of FGM were newly identified by NHS doctors, despite the practice being illegal since 1985.
Ms Kamel, who wants to raise awareness about the issue so others don't suffer the same consequences like her and the over 30,000 other affected women in the UK, said: 'She told me we were going on a summer vacation, but she had arranged to do this to me, encouraged by her friends and other mothers.
Basma Kamel, 30, who was a victim of female genital mutilation (FGM) when she was nine years old. She said she struggled with her mental health for a long time after her FGM, but is now able to accept her own body
'We went to a doctor in a special clinic where I had the procedure.
'Honestly, I didn't have any idea about what is going on.
'The doctor told me it is only a small surgery and it wouldn't be painful.'
But a week after undergoing the procedure Basma was bleeding, because the stitches were 'open and had to be refreshed again'.
Ms Kamel said her mother never gave her a proper explanation why she had to have the circumcision, but added: 'She said that this is something we all do for all girls, so every woman has to go through it.
'She said it's good for my future when I get married.
'I didn't really understand what the difference was when I was nine.'
She is not angry at her mother anymore.
Ms Kamel said: 'I understand she was not aware of the real consequences of FGM and she is a survivor as well.
'I don't blame her for doing this, because this is something that every woman in our culture does to her daughter.'
She is still suffering from the consequences of her FGM today.
'I'm experiencing PTSD and complicated intersexual relationships,' she said.
'Before coming to the UK in 2019, I was unable to have a sexual relationship.
'I finally got therapy here and it helped me understand myself and showed me that I can have a normal relationship.'
'I always need to explain myself to a partner and I need to really take my time.
'Sometimes I'm unable to say I'm a survivor and that this has happened to me.
'There is so much pain and shame. It takes a lot of energy to explain FGM to a person and it has really affected my mental health.
'I'm accepting my body now, but before I wasn't. I felt very angry and incomplete.'
As a FGM survivor, it is really important for the 30-year-old to raise awareness, as the procedure is still being done today, despite being illegal in the UK since 1985 and punishable with up to 14
