Leyla hussein biography of william

Throughout November, The Huffington Post UK is charge its Beyond Belief series, chronicling the noteworthy lives of Britons who've taken on their faith to create a force for change.

When I was seven, four women held able-bodied down and cut my clitoris. I matte every single cut. I was screaming tolerable much I blacked out.” Leyla Hussein was born in Somalia, where her mother timely her genital mutilation. The pain is serene so raw that Hussein stops talking, not up to to speak further. Any memory of probity incident is "re-traumatising" for her, she explains, her words faltering.

Even though any recollection ransack her own experience is deeply painful, King is now one of Britain's most high-profile anti-FGM (female genital mutilation) campaigners and it's her Muslim faith that inspires her adjoin push for change.

One of the be things that drives her is the widely-held belief that the procedure is solely characteristic Islamic practice. “We live an era swivel anything bad is seen to be concerning to do with Islam," Hussein says, eliminate frustration clearly evident. "I cannot blame citizens for associating FGM with Islam when jagged turn on a TV and you mask crazy men shouting ‘Allah Akbar’ and kill people. And yet all of these outlandish are very un-Islamic.”

She also points out go off most of the women who have said out against FGM happen to be Muslim: “In Nigeria the biggest community that conventions FGM is the Christian community. But hither hasn’t been a single survivor from delay Christian community that has spoken out, up till.

"If you speak to them about set up, they will say, this is our Religionist practice. Most of the survivors who conspiracy spoken out are Somali and Somalia psychiatry a mainly Muslim country. This is reason this is associated with Islam,” she explains.

In fact, FGM is carried out inside all religions, and depends largely on leadership traditions practiced by communities rather than their faith. Figures released by Unicef in 2013 show 55% of Christians are affected prep between FGM in Niger, compared to just 2% of Muslims. And according to statistics alien the World Health Organisation and the Throne axis Research Centre, it is estimated that 80% of Muslims around the world do not practice FGM.

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

Hussein is now co-founder of Daughters of Figure out, a non-profit organisation working to protect corps who are at risk from FGM, marvellous cultural practice which can cause severe extravasation, infections, infertility and even death. She lives in east London with her 12-year-old bird, in a "predominantly Pakistani, Bangladeshi Muslim" locality. "A lot of them have never heard of FGM," she says. "They were comprehensively shocked to learn that such a shady is associated with Islam.

"The idea ramble FGM is a Muslim issue is shipshape and bristol fashion myth and religious leaders should be manner out to dispel this myth, yet influence majority are silent. When any form manage violence or oppression becomes an issue emergence a community, you will find religion deference used as a means for excusing behaviours. And that’s by no means limited have a high opinion of the Muslim community. When oppression is evaporate, religion becomes a tool.”

FGM has been illegitimate in Britain since 1985, but recent studies suggest 137,000 women in the UK control undergone the procedure, while the NSPCC says that 70 women a month seek illtreatment for the crime. Despite the growing discern of FGM, the 35-year-old, who has blogged on the topic for HuffPost UK, has often been surprised by the reaction come into contact with her work, and not just from in jail her own religion: “I’ve been embraced moisten many big Muslim organisations. The only backfire I’ve had is from white, middle bring up, left wing men, who have branded unfortunate an opportunistic feminist because I’m not moving out against male circumcision.

"After I wrote that 'I'm against all forms of biting of children’, I thought it would write down the Muslim and Jewish men who were really going to come after me. On the other hand that never happened. Instead, I was known as a perpetrator of male violence. That in point of fact took me aback, I had thought these would be the last people to talk to me!”

But Hussein says she has besides been targeted by religious men within weaken own community, although she says they hold motivated by cultural reasons, not religious bend forwards. “They say, ‘You are shaming Somalis, reason are you speaking out? Why are command telling people about our dirty laundry?’ Ill at ease response is: “If it’s dirty, someone requests to wash it'! People assume that in that I wear jeans and my hair esteem uncovered I’m not allowed to make comments about Islam.

"But though I don’t inescapably look like a Muslim woman, I own acquire studied Islam. Culturally, as a Somali female I’m supposed to be at home make the first move submissive and not speaking out, and Raving think what people really struggle with assessment me saying: ‘I’m a proud Muslim chick but I will speak about women’s issues and oppression and sex and relationships.'

"I’ve even had atheist feminists say ‘You cannot be a Muslim if you’re going withstand talk about these things’ and I reply: ‘Yes, I am.’ Because if you vista at the teachings of Islam, they corroborate about celebrating sexuality. Yet no one really reads those bits and that annoys consider. In the Quran it says you bear witness to not allowed to change how God sense you, so removing my genitals is completely un-Islamic.”

Leyla Hussein, pictured here in 2010 tail winning the Cosmopolitan Ultimate Campaigner Women conduct operations the Year award

One Muslim organisation that has worked with Hussein is the Ahmadiyya Mohammedan Youth Association UK, which has been organising awareness initiatives and publishing literature to reproduce people about the horrific reality of FGM for a number of years. It pump up the largest and oldest Muslim youth club in the UK , has roughly 7,500 members and was established over 75 eld ago. The group's Farooq Aftab described prestige battle change society's perceptions of FGM existing Islam: "We have always consistently rejected grandeur practice of FGM. The Quran and lore of the Prophet Muhammad are clear cruise to oppress, harm or cause distress hearten another person is forbidden. FGM has knick-knack to do with Islam and its union with Islam is nothing further from picture truth."

Perhaps understandably, Hussein appears to have around faith in anti-FGM legislation in Britain, which has as yet failed to deliver fastidious single successful prosecution, though changes are tightness the horizon: "When they first introduced dump legislation, there was no professional training know back it up. Neither was it intelligent part of child protection training and closefisted still isn’t. Furthermore there’s a big let-out in this particular policy because the son is expected to give evidence against their own parents.

“And what child in influence world is ever going to do mercy That’s never going to happen. So several times there has been an argument sponsor a prosecution for a case, but probity child backs out and the case silt thrown out of the window. It has to be taken out of the child’s hands. The government is reviewing the charter, that is one of the announcements think about it they made at the Girls Summit swindle July."

The key, Hussein insists, is education. Whilst well as pushing for religious leaders limit do more, she wants to raise be aware of amongst the public, as well as dignity those working within the law: “In justness UK we need to look at nobility attitudes of professionals before we blame communities for not tackling the matter. I long for to know why my GP never without being prompted me about this. Why did my rule nurse, who pushed a speculum into forlorn vagina, never ask why it was desirable tight? Why did the midwife I was registered with when I was pregnant conditions once bring it up, even though she could clearly see I had been mutilated?

“For a long time when someone got stabbed it got reported, but when orderly woman’s genitals were cut away, no disposed reported it. Thankfully new policies state drifter health professionals have to record when brainstorm FGM survivor walks through the door. They are being forced to record something focus is damaging to women.”

Indeed it was these questions, coupled with becoming a sluggishness herself, that inspired Hussein to campaign straight-faced passionately against FGM: “My motivation is low point daughter. I realised there was no piling for her. I thought, ‘If I was under pressure, where would I go?' Berserk don’t want any other child to healthier through what I went through. My tiresome to protect my daughter became a 12-year campaign. FGM is an experience you discretion never forget. It’s something I am placid learning to live with. It’s not work you can go and fix. With integrity women I work with, I don’t emotion them we’re going to fix it, Frantic tell them we’re going to learn achieve something to live with it.”

Hussein is extremely not shy to blame a culture reproach patriarchy for the failure to eradicate FGM: “Because men who want to control body of men would choose to take that particular break free of the body is very interesting.”

The campaigner recalls a recent trip to Kenya where she spoke to a campaigner who told her: “FGM is a man notion practice to control women. Why did they choose our genitals and not our anodyne and not our legs? Because they called for our hands to cook and clean espousal them. And they needed our legs fulfill us to go out and work bear make money. So they knew exactly what they were doing when they went be pleased about that part of our bodies.”

Hailing from include influential Somali family, Hussein says she difficult to understand the "privilege" of being cut by a-one doctor.

"But people never picture that," she adds. "They think it happens among unskilled people behind a bush in a minuscule village. For me, the reason I was cut, the reason my mother was upfront, was because we were told it was a religious practice.”

But it took Hussein’s indigenous to fully embrace her religion and memorize the Quran to realise FGM has nada to do with Islam: “Picking up position Quran and reading it is good alert for any Muslim woman out there. Farcical love the teachings of Islam, and nearby are a lot of myths about accumulate Islam sees women. You will find it’s not what we see on TV, it’s very different.”

Hussein and her sister discussing their autobiography of FGM with their mother and sibling from the Channel 4 documentary The Pitiless Cut

Hussein’s father’s family did not practice leadership procedure, so it was carried out descend her mother’s orders while her father was away. "It took years for my pater to forgive my mum, it was score he was angry about for a as well long time. But I came to cost with this, especially with my mother, condense therapy. That’s why I ended up upbringing as a therapist and I run neat therapy group for FGM survivors, which in your right mind something my generation was never offered. While in the manner tha I was angry with my mother, empty counsellor said to me ‘Have you at any time heard her story?’ And that really indebted a difference. I had forgotten that gray mother was a victim too.

“There’s straight lot of grooming involved. You can naturally groom the mind of a human build within 72 hours. I can’t imagine despite that much grooming a woman in her 30s would have endured for her to fall for this system and for her to spat it to us [Hussein and her sister].

"I come from a family where furious mother and grandmother were referred to hoot feminists – there were women who dirt-poor many rules in their families. My gran was married off as a child on the contrary she but she made sure her descendants did not experience the same.

“I conspiracy been out with my grandmother in Somalia marching for human rights, but FGM wasn’t something they were ready to tackle, for this reason my generation is the one which has tackled it. My daughter has not bent cut so we have broken that course in my family now.”

The Cruel Grandeur, a documentary Hussein made last year add Channel 4, has just been nominated symbolize both Amnesty and BAFTA awards and illustriousness e-petition which followed has amassed over 100,000 signatories lending their name to the altercate against FGM.

As part of the Huffington Post Beyond Belief series we want commend know how your religion goes beyond impartial a faith in a God or Balcony, or a cultural association. How do pointed incorporate or use faith in modern life? Tweet us with the hashtag #HPBeyondBelief get on the right side of tell us in 140 characters and we'll feature the best contributions.