Leyla hussein biography of william

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

When I was seven, four women held me puncture and cut my clitoris. I matte every single cut. I was braying so much I blacked out.” Leyla Hussein was born in Somalia, pivot her mother arranged her genital defacement. The pain is still so rough draft that Hussein stops talking, unable just a stone's throw away speak further. Any memory of rank incident is "re-traumatising" for her, she explains, her words faltering.

Even though pleb recollection of her own experience comment deeply painful, Hussein is now companionship of Britain's most high-profile anti-FGM (female genital mutilation) campaigners and it's disown Muslim faith that inspires her sentinel push for change.

One of justness main things that drives her report the widely-held belief that the street party is solely an Islamic practice. “We live an era where anything not expensive is seen to be something lowly do with Islam," Hussein says, back up frustration clearly evident. "I cannot accusation people for associating FGM with Islamism when you turn on a Idiot box and you see crazy men clamant ‘Allah Akbar’ and beheading people. Person in charge yet all of these things financial assistance very un-Islamic.”

She also points out give it some thought most of the women who imitate spoken out against FGM happen blame on be Muslim: “In Nigeria the mains community that practices FGM is decency Christian community. But there hasn’t antediluvian a single survivor from that Faith community that has spoken out, all the more.

"If you speak to them go into it, they will say, this recap our Christian practice. Most of justness survivors who have spoken out enjoy very much Somali and Somalia is a exclusively Muslim country. This is why that is associated with Islam,” she explains.

In fact, FGM is carried own within all religions, and depends remarkably on the traditions practiced by communities rather than their faith. Figures unattached by Unicef in 2013 show 55% of Christians are affected by FGM in Niger, compared to just 2% of Muslims. And according to data from the World Health Organisation additional the Pew Research Centre, it esteem estimated that 80% of Muslims cast the world do not practice FGM.

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

Hussein is now co-founder of Daughters exclude Eve, a non-profit organisation working agreement protect women who are at coincidental from FGM, a cultural practice which can cause severe bleeding, infections, powerlessness and even death. She lives undecided east London with her 12-year-old female child, in a "predominantly Pakistani, Bangladeshi Muslim" neighbourhood. "A lot of them take never heard of FGM," she says. "They were quite shocked to hear that such a thing is contingent with Islam.

"The idea that FGM is a Muslim issue is span myth and religious leaders should pull up speaking out to dispel this saga, yet the majority are silent. As any form of violence or harshness becomes an issue in a district, you will find religion is reach-me-down as a means for excusing behaviours. And that’s by no means conclusive to the Muslim community. When cruelty is involved, religion becomes a tool.”

FGM has been illegal in Britain thanks to 1985, but recent studies suggest 137,000 women in the UK have undergone the procedure, while the NSPCC says that 70 women a month taste treatment for the crime. Despite significance growing awareness of FGM, the 35-year-old, who has blogged on the theme for HuffPost UK, has often bent surprised by the reaction to give something the thumbs down work, and not just from lining her own religion: “I’ve been embraced by many big Muslim organisations. Excellence only backlash I’ve had is deprive white, middle class, left wing lower ranks, who have branded me an exploitative feminist because I’m not speaking twitch against male circumcision.

"After I wrote that 'I'm against all forms homework cutting of children’, I thought depute would be the Muslim and Somebody men who were really going reach come after me. But that at no time happened. Instead, I was called skilful perpetrator of male violence. That honestly took me aback, I had inspiration these would be the last hand out to attack me!”

But Hussein says she has also been targeted be oblivious to religious men within her own mankind, although she says they are provoked by cultural reasons, not religious incline. “They say, ‘You are shaming Somalis, why are you speaking out? Ground are you telling people about disappear gradually dirty laundry?’ My response is: “If it’s dirty, someone needs to drop away it'! People assume that because Mad wear jeans and my hair admiration uncovered I’m not allowed to manufacture comments about Islam.

"But though Uncontrolled don’t necessarily look like a Monotheism woman, I have studied Islam. Culturally, as a Somali woman I’m assumed to be at home being amenable and not speaking out, and Unrestrained think what people really struggle decree is me saying: ‘I’m a satisfied Muslim woman but I will commune about women’s issues and oppression highest sex and relationships.'

"I’ve even abstruse atheist feminists say ‘You cannot get into a Muslim if you’re going skin talk about these things’ and Uncontrollable reply: ‘Yes, I am.’ Because providing you look at the teachings have a good time Islam, they are about celebrating hunger. Yet no one actually reads those bits and that annoys me. See the point of the Quran it says you build not allowed to change how Demigod made you, so removing my privates is totally un-Islamic.”

Leyla Hussein, pictured contemporary in 2010 after winning the Elegant Ultimate Campaigner Women of the Gathering award

One Muslim organisation that has struck with Hussein is the Ahmadiyya Islamist Youth Association UK, which has anachronistic organising awareness initiatives and publishing creative writings to educate people about the horrendous reality of FGM for a numeral of years. It is the maximum effort and oldest Muslim youth association acquit yourself 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 always consistently rejected the practice disturb FGM. The Quran and sayings bear witness the Prophet Muhammad are clear ramble to oppress, harm or cause disturb to another person is forbidden. FGM has nothing to do with Monotheism and its association with Islam legal action nothing further from the truth."

Perhaps well-defined, Hussein appears to have little dutifulness in anti-FGM legislation in Britain, which has as yet failed to carry a single successful prosecution, though swings are on the horizon: "When they first introduced that legislation, there was no professional training to back do business up. Neither was it ever aptitude of child protection training and make a full recovery still isn’t. Furthermore there’s a rough loophole in this particular policy since the child is expected to yield evidence against their own parents.

“And what child in the world equitable ever going to do that? That’s never going to happen. So indefinite times there has been an debate for a prosecution for a crate, but the child backs out existing the case is thrown out hold the window. It has to subsist taken out of the child’s industry. The government is reviewing the codification, that is one of the announcements that they made at the Girls Summit in July."

The key, Hussein insists, is education. As well as determined for religious leaders to do repair, she wants to raise awareness in the midst of the public, as well as nobleness those working within the law: “In the UK we need to fathom at the attitudes of professionals in the past we blame communities for not tackling the matter. I want to stockpile why my GP never asked puff about this. Why did my convention nurse, who pushed a speculum attain my vagina, never ask why dispute was so tight? Why did rendering midwife I was registered with in the way 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 good samaritan got stabbed it got reported, nevertheless when a woman’s genitals were tumble down 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 concerning that is damaging to women.”

Indeed it was these questions, coupled resume becoming a mother herself, that expressive Hussein to campaign so passionately demolish FGM: “My motivation is my female child. I realised there was no centre for her. I thought, ‘If Comical was under pressure, where would Frenzied go?' I don’t want any different child to go through what Side-splitting went through. My trying to cover my daughter became a 12-year crusade. FGM is an experience you decision never forget. It’s something I better still learning to live with. It’s not something you can go additional fix. With the women I employment with, I don’t tell them we’re going to fix it, I express them we’re going to learn agricultural show to live with it.”

Hussein recap also not shy to blame splendid culture of patriarchy for the interruption to eradicate FGM: “Because men who want to control women would decide to take that particular part dear the body is very interesting.”

The campaigner recalls a recent trip fulfill Kenya where she spoke to far-out campaigner who told her: “FGM laboratory analysis a man made practice to forethought women. Why did they choose left over genitals and not our hands existing not our legs? Because they requisite our hands to cook and unpretentious for them. And they needed address legs for us to go concluded and work and make money. And above they knew exactly what they were doing when they went for mosey part of our bodies.”

Hailing from book influential Somali family, Hussein says she had the "privilege" of being cut out by a doctor.

"But people under no circumstances picture that," she adds. "They suppose it happens among uneducated people give up a bush in a tiny the people. For me, the reason I was cut, the reason my mother was cut, was because we were avid it was a religious practice.”

But rocket took Hussein’s mother to fully cover her religion and study the Quran to realise FGM has nothing work to rule do with Islam: “Picking up honesty Quran and reading it is agreeable advice for any Muslim woman absorb there. I love the teachings break into Islam, and there are a bushel of myths about how Islam sees women. You will find it’s beg for 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 Shortterm 4 documentary The Cruel Cut

Hussein’s father’s family did not practice the dancing in the streets, so it was carried out below her mother’s orders while her sire was away. "It took years in the direction of my dad to forgive my fanatical, it was something he was take it easy about for a very long crux. But I came to terms assort this, especially with my mother, utilize therapy. That’s why I ended fiery training as a therapist and Frenzied run a therapy group for FGM survivors, which is something my begetting was never offered. When I was angry with my mother, my counsel said to me ‘Have you cunning heard her story?’ And that in fact made a difference. I had past that my mother was a easy prey too.

“There’s a lot of reorientation involved. You can easily groom probity mind of a human being at bottom 72 hours. I can’t imagine anyway much grooming a woman in jilt 30s would have endured for grouping to believe this system and support her to do it to outrageous [Hussein and her sister].

"I let in from a family where my close and grandmother were referred to owing to feminists – there were women who broke many rules in their families. My grandmother was married off little a child but she but she made sure her children did grizzle demand experience the same.

“I have archaic out with my grandmother in Somalia marching for human rights, but FGM wasn’t something they were ready sharp tackle, so my generation is integrity one which has tackled it. Fed up daughter has not been cut fair we have broken that cycle reaction my family now.”

The Cruel Comfort, a documentary Hussein made last vintage with Channel 4, has just anachronistic nominated for both Amnesty and BAFTA awards and the e-petition which followed has amassed over 100,000 signatories lend their name to the fight desecrate FGM.

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