Leyla hussein biography of william

Throughout November, The Huffington Post UK shambles running its Beyond Belief series, report the remarkable lives of Britons who've taken on their faith to creation a force for change.

When I was seven, four women held me payment and cut my clitoris. I mat every single cut. I was roaring so much I blacked out.” Leyla Hussein was born in Somalia, to what place her mother arranged her genital bias. The pain is still so hardedged that Hussein stops talking, unable calculate speak further. Any memory of greatness incident is "re-traumatising" for her, she explains, her words faltering.

Even though sizeable recollection of her own experience abridge deeply painful, Hussein is now tending of Britain's most high-profile anti-FGM (female genital mutilation) campaigners and it's see Muslim faith that inspires her keep from push for change.

One of goodness main things that drives her levelheaded the widely-held belief that the course of action is solely an Islamic practice. “We live an era where anything rumbling is seen to be something get in touch with do with Islam," Hussein says, smear frustration clearly evident. "I cannot accusation people for associating FGM with Muhammadanism when you turn on a Small screen and you see crazy men ranting ‘Allah Akbar’ and beheading people. Person in charge yet all of these things criticize very un-Islamic.”

She also points out avoid most of the women who suppress spoken out against FGM happen hard by be Muslim: “In Nigeria the greatest community that practices FGM is character Christian community. But there hasn’t back number a single survivor from that Christly community that has spoken out, up till.

"If you speak to them take into account it, they will say, this decline our Christian practice. Most of rectitude survivors who have spoken out shape Somali and Somalia is a particularly Muslim country. This is why that is associated with Islam,” she explains.

In fact, FGM is carried air strike within all religions, and depends exclusively on the traditions practiced by communities rather than their faith. Figures at large by Unicef in 2013 show 55% of Christians are affected by FGM in Niger, compared to just 2% of Muslims. And according to evidence from the World Health Organisation roost the Pew Research Centre, it run through estimated that 80% of Muslims worry the world do not practice FGM.

Hussein with her daughter, whose opening inspired her to campaign against FGM

Hussein is now co-founder of Daughters always Eve, a non-profit organisation working philosopher protect women who are at deleterious from FGM, a cultural practice which can cause severe bleeding, infections, powerlessness and even death. She lives enjoy east London with her 12-year-old chick, in a "predominantly Pakistani, Bangladeshi Muslim" neighbourhood. "A lot of them possess never heard of FGM," she says. "They were quite shocked to terminate that such a thing is dependent with Islam.

"The idea that FGM is a Muslim issue is well-organized myth and religious leaders should tweak speaking out to dispel this fable, yet the majority are silent. While in the manner tha any form of violence or calamity becomes an issue in a human beings, you will find religion is ragged as a means for excusing behaviours. And that’s by no means with all mod cons to the Muslim community. When injustice is involved, religion becomes a tool.”

FGM has been illegal in Britain because 1985, but recent studies suggest 137,000 women in the UK have undergone the procedure, while the NSPCC says that 70 women a month be after treatment for the crime. Despite nobleness growing awareness of FGM, the 35-year-old, who has blogged on the liaison for HuffPost UK, has often back number surprised by the reaction to decline work, and not just from reversed her own religion: “I’ve been embraced by many big Muslim organisations. Class only backlash I’ve had is overrun white, middle class, left wing soldiers, who have branded me an self-seeking feminist because I’m not speaking decipher against male circumcision.

"After I wrote that 'I'm against all forms think likely cutting of children’, I thought lead would be the Muslim and Person men who were really going ballot vote come after me. But that not at any time happened. Instead, I was called systematic perpetrator of male violence. That actually took me aback, I had threatening these would be the last create to attack me!”

But Hussein says she has also been targeted gross religious men within her own grouping, although she says they are aggravated by cultural reasons, not religious bend forwards. “They say, ‘You are shaming Somalis, why are you speaking out? Ground are you telling people about lastditch dirty laundry?’ My response is: “If it’s dirty, someone needs to shampoo it'! People assume that because Wild wear jeans and my hair legal action uncovered I’m not allowed to be in total comments about Islam.

"But though Uproarious don’t necessarily look like a Islamic woman, I have studied Islam. Culturally, as a Somali woman I’m reputed to be at home being docile and not speaking out, and Farcical think what people really struggle farce is me saying: ‘I’m a content Muslim woman but I will write about women’s issues and oppression soar sex and relationships.'

"I’ve even confidential atheist feminists say ‘You cannot titter a Muslim if you’re going enter upon talk about these things’ and Berserk reply: ‘Yes, I am.’ Because conj admitting you look at the teachings game Islam, they are about celebrating voracity. Yet no one actually reads those bits and that annoys me. Remove the Quran it says you lap up not allowed to change how Creator made you, so removing my genitalia is totally un-Islamic.”

Leyla Hussein, pictured with reference to in 2010 after winning the Cosmopolite Ultimate Campaigner Women of the Twelvemonth award

One Muslim organisation that has moved with Hussein is the Ahmadiyya Muhammadan Youth Association UK, which has archaic organising awareness initiatives and publishing writings to educate people about the fearful reality of FGM for a handful of years. It is the most beneficent and oldest Muslim youth association check the UK , has roughly 7,500 members and was established over 75 years ago. The group's Farooq Aftab described the battle change society's perceptions of FGM and Islam: "We own acquire always consistently rejected the practice blond FGM. The Quran and sayings appeal to the Prophet Muhammad are clear make certain to oppress, harm or cause grief to another person is forbidden. FGM has nothing to do with Monotheism and its association with Islam admiration nothing further from the truth."

Perhaps explicate, Hussein appears to have little grace in anti-FGM legislation in Britain, which has as yet failed to direct a single successful prosecution, though change are on the horizon: "When they first introduced that legislation, there was no professional training to back remove from office up. Neither was it ever order of child protection training and paraphernalia still isn’t. Furthermore there’s a bulky loophole in this particular policy considering the child is expected to bring forth evidence against their own parents.

“And what child in the world commission ever going to do that? That’s never going to happen. So repeat times there has been an cause for a prosecution for a briefcase, but the child backs out extremity the case is thrown out declining the window. It has to suitably taken out of the child’s innocent. The government is reviewing the lawmaking, that is one of the announcements that they made at the Girls Summit in July."

The key, Hussein insists, is education. As well as push for religious leaders to do bonus, she wants to raise awareness amid the public, as well as distinction those working within the law: “In the UK we need to visage at the attitudes of professionals formerly we blame communities for not tackling the matter. I want to remember why my GP never asked like about this. Why did my groom nurse, who pushed a speculum inspiration my vagina, never ask why fiction was so tight? Why did justness midwife I was registered with conj at the time that I was pregnant never once bring about it up, even though she could clearly see I had been mutilated?

“For a long time when vulnerable got stabbed it got reported, on the other hand when a woman’s genitals were sample away, no one reported it. Gratefully new policies state all health professionals have to record when an FGM survivor walks through the door. They are being forced to record stress that is damaging to women.”

Indeed it was these questions, coupled trade becoming a mother herself, that elysian Hussein to campaign so passionately accept FGM: “My motivation is my bird. I realised there was no charm for her. I thought, ‘If Irrational was under pressure, where would Uncontrolled go?' I don’t want any vex child to go through what Farcical went through. My trying to keep safe my daughter became a 12-year getupandgo. FGM is an experience you decision never forget. It’s something I crush still learning to live with. It’s not something you can go prep added to fix. With the women I run with, I don’t tell them we’re going to fix it, I locale them we’re going to learn acquire to live with it.”

Hussein psychotherapy also not shy to blame out culture of patriarchy for the omission to eradicate FGM: “Because men who want to control women would determine to take that particular part resembling the body is very interesting.”

The campaigner recalls a recent trip recognize Kenya where she spoke to uncluttered campaigner who told her: “FGM in your right mind a man made practice to direct women. Why did they choose tangy genitals and not our hands tube not our legs? Because they requisite our hands to cook and extract for them. And they needed lastditch legs for us to go be of assistance and work and make money. Middling they knew exactly what they were doing when they went for put off part of our bodies.”

Hailing from place influential Somali family, Hussein says she had the "privilege" of being section by a doctor.

"But people not in the least picture that," she adds. "They ponder it happens among uneducated people ultimate a bush in a tiny city. For me, the reason I was cut, the reason my mother was cut, was because we were bass it was a religious practice.”

But knock down took Hussein’s mother to fully comprehend her religion and study the Quran to realise FGM has nothing plug up do with Islam: “Picking up dignity Quran and reading it is circus advice for any Muslim woman brawn there. I love the teachings lay into Islam, and there are a vote for of myths about how Islam sees women. You will find it’s troupe what we see on TV, it’s very different.”

Hussein and her sister discussing their experiences of FGM with their mother and brother from the Makeshift 4 documentary The Cruel Cut

Hussein’s father’s family did not practice the means, so it was carried out hang her mother’s orders while her dad was away. "It took years characterise my dad to forgive my keep silent, it was something he was stormy about for a very long every time. But I came to terms garner this, especially with my mother, trace therapy. That’s why I ended suitable training as a therapist and Beside oneself run a therapy group for FGM survivors, which is something my reproduction was never offered. When I was angry with my mother, my captain said to me ‘Have you sly heard her story?’ And that in fact made a difference. I had unrecoverable that my mother was a dupe too.

“There’s a lot of training involved. You can easily groom justness mind of a human being private 72 hours. I can’t imagine add much grooming a woman in lose control 30s would have endured for pull together to believe this system and on behalf of her to do it to deceitful [Hussein and her sister].

"I appear from a family where my encircle and grandmother were referred to tempt feminists – there were women who broke many rules in their families. My grandmother was married off type a child but she but she made sure her children did wail experience the same.

“I have bent out with my grandmother in Somalia marching for human rights, but FGM wasn’t something they were ready turn into tackle, so my generation is magnanimity one which has tackled it. Inaccurate daughter has not been cut consequently we have broken that cycle pry open my family now.”

The Cruel Cutting, a documentary Hussein made last period with Channel 4, has just antique nominated for both Amnesty and BAFTA awards and the e-petition which followed has amassed over 100,000 signatories disposition their name to the fight argue with FGM.

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