As a survivor of FGM, I know first hand the horror of this practice. I was 11 when I was cut. Back then, I thought it wasn’t possible to experience more pain. I was wrong. I had to go through it all over again as a young woman giving birth, when I inevitably suffered complications. I went through 4 days of labour because of the consequences of this abuse. I was lucky; both I and my baby survived. Other girls, women and babies suffer a much worse fate as a consequence of FGM.

The UK courts have said that if a woman is at risk from female genital mutilation in one part of her country and it would not be reasonable for her to live in another part of her country, the UK should allow her to live here as a refugee.  The UKBA is regularly refusing women and girls protection on the grounds that they can live safely elsewhere in their own country.  Mrs May, this is not true. In countries like mine, a woman cannot simply leave her family to escape FGM or protect her daughter from the practice. Single women cannot live safely without the protection of a male relative. Nor is it possible to live safely outside your tribe. Often, the extended family can find them very easily to perpetrate the genital mutilation.

You have been a great supporter of the abolition of FGM and you have recognized that it is "an abhorrent form of child abuse which this Government are committed to eradicating". I call on you now to ensure the UKBA enacts this commitment by providing women and girls fleeing the practice of FGM with refugee protection.

Yours,

Sarian Kamara


Sarian Kamara is a survivor of FGM, a mother, a case worker for victims of crime and a campaigner against FGM. She campaigns with Forward and Manor Gardens as part of the Tackling FGM Special Initiative, training professionals and raising awareness amongst affected communities.