‘We need to break the silence on female genital mutilation’: Survivor and Councillor Ali said education can end FGM

A councillor who survived female genital mutilation (FGM) as a child is campaigning to spread awareness around the issue in her borough – which has the highest rates of FGM in the country.

FGM is a procedure where the female genitals are deliberately cut, injured or changed, but there’s no medical reason for this to be done. 

The procedure is painful and can cause long-term problems with sex, childbirth and mental health. In some cases, FGM can be fatal.

Deputy Mayor of Southwark, Councillor Naima Ali – who is from Somalia – was named the borough’s first ambassador for FGM on February 6.

She said: “Being a survivor, it’s very tough to talk about. Where I’m from it was something that was seen as acceptable, a cultural thing, but it’s very traumatic.”

About 6,000 women and girls are affected by FGM in Southwark. This is almost eight times higher than rates across the whole of England.

To date, there have only been two successful convictions related to FGM in the UK.

Cllr Ali said: “After I came to the UK in 1997, I was doing volunteering work. I realised I could talk more freely about my experience and began to try and find services for survivors.

“I went to a family planning clinic in Southwark to get birth control – which was a big thing for me – but the lady put me straight on the safeguarding register when she found out I was a survivor with a daughter.

“I felt like I had been judged for what had happened and was seen as a criminal. They didn’t understand.”

Cllr Ali said this experience led her to believe that current services in place to support survivors are not well equipped to deal with the issue. 

She said: “I want to bring in more local, specialist FGM services.

“At the moment many services are within hospitals where victims are seen as patients and not survivors. 

“If medical professionals ask a question in the wrong way, survivors are not prepared and it can make it very difficult.”

Despite only becoming a Southwark Labour councillor in 2022, Cllr Ali has worked with South London communities for more than 20 years.

Between 2003 and 2019 she worked for drug and alcohol services, supporting people with addiction issues, a Somali teaching centre in Woolwich and the mental health charity Mind in Greenwich.

She said: “Right now the push is coming from grassroots organisations, I want people in senior positions to start talking about FGM.”

In 2022, Cllr Ali organised a walk to raise awareness around FGM from Southwark Park to Tooley Street alongside three cabinet members.

She repeated the walk on February 6, to mark International Day of Zero Tolerance.

She said: “I want to break the silence on FGM. I want survivors to talk about their experiences and the risks involved.

“I want men who are married to FGM survivors to work with the women, so they can discourage it – talk to other men.

“If I don’t do this I will be failing the next generation of women.”

Pictured top: Councillor Naima Ali (Picture: Naima Ali)