(Deutsche Welle) After Shadia Abdelmoneim’s third child was born, while she was still under anesthetic, her midwife performed female genital mutilation (FGM) on her without her consent. It led to a lengthy period of shock thereafter where she found it difficult to trust anybody, but Shadia also vividly recalls the moment she realized what had happened.
“I wanted to go to the toilet, but something wasn’t right. I couldn’t walk and was in considerable pain. When I saw what she had done, I was shocked. She’d cut everything open and then sewn it closed. I had no idea what to do.”
Shadia, already fighting against female genital mutilation and for women’s rights as an activist in Sudan, was in her mid 30’s at the time. She started living in a constant state of fear for her three daughters; she could barely let them out of her sight.
