They said it would make me a woman,
That it was the only way I could get a husband.
I didn’t want it,
That merciless cut.
Mother and aunties said I must go through with it,
It was for my own protection,
So that I would not feel desire for another man,
Apart from the husband they would choose for me.
I cried, I didn’t want this,
But culture had to be followed.
So I went for the cut against my will,
And the pain, oh the pain was excruciating.
It hurt, and I bleed,
Rivers of blood tickled from my body,
And as it did I felt my innocence slipping away.
It took a long time to heal,
And the scars are still there.
In my head, I still feel the pain,
I still scream for that innocent 12-year-old girl,
Who lost something precious she can’t get back.
That wound still affects me,
Affects the woman I should have been.
Years later as I bear a child,
The pain from that cut is doubled,
I felt no pleasure from the creation of this child,
Because the cut affected my desire,
And it made having sex painful.
I wish I had someone to defend my rights,
To say no on my behalf that day,
To say no to FGM.
I may not have had an angel come to save me,
But you and I can be that angel for someone else,
Let’s say no to FGM,
Advocate for women’s rights,
Let a girl have a bright future.
It’s time to put an end to FGM.
This is a work of fiction. But this is a reality for some girls. We need to say no to Female Genital Mutilation.
