Entertainment (Commonwealth Union) In a heartbreaking revelation, Zainab Jama (Miss World Somalia) took to the stage, delivering an emotional testimony that moved many to tears.
Speaking at the Head-to-Head Challenge, a segment of the competition that features social advocacy and inspiring stories, the 23-year-old competitor recounted her traumatic experience of being forced to undergo female genital mutilation (FGM), in the name of tradition.
Female genital mutilation, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), includes “procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.” Despite the practice having no particular health benefit for girls or women, it is known to cause multiple complications, including urinating difficulties, menstrual issues, cysts, and infections, and is recognized worldwide as a violation of the human rights of girls and women, especially because it’s largely practiced on minors.
In her speech on May 21, Zainab Jama recalled growing up in Somalia as a refugee and leaving her country due to conflict and environmental crises. After eventually settling down in the UK, she stated that the trauma of her ordeal remained, prompting her to found the Female Initiative Organization, finding strength as a survivor to build a project that stems from “the darkest moments” of her life.
Recounting a painfully detailed memory of when her rights and her body were taken away at the mere age of seven, Jama broke down in tears, describing the powerlessness that she experienced. “I was seven years old. I was outside, playing with my friends. When I was picked up, my clothes were ripped off, and I was taken to a room where three women waited with blades, scissors, and old tools,” she stated, also mentioning that the women who carried out the procedure were neither doctors nor medically trained and did not use any form of anesthesia. They instructed her to remain silent and proud as they carried out their tradition.
Following a form of FGM known as infibulation, Jama recalled being tied alone in a dark room for a period of time that many girls did not manage to survive. Acknowledging her surviving childhood, she lamented the fact that not all girls did, stating that she regarded it as “her main purpose in the world” to raise awareness about female genital mutilation, using her platform as an advocate to end the unlawful practice. She also mentioned that she has built a sisterhood of survivors in the UK, using public speaking to reach out and convince mothers that “love should never—tradition should never come at the cost of a child’s body or soul.”
The CEO of Miss World Organization Julia Morley, stepped up to the platform to embrace Jama through her tears and stood beside her offering her support. She emphasised that Jama’s cause should be heard, stressing that they “have to eventually stop and think that custom is wrong, and there is no shaming being wrong. The shame is not to put it right”.
The World Health Organization states that over 230 million women and girls have been subjected to female genital mutilation practices in Middle Eastern, African, and Asian countries that still practice this procedure, and it is majorly carried out on girls between infancy and 15 years of age. They have also mentioned that the plethora of health risks caused by FMG practices, including vaginal, menstrual, urinary, and sexual problems, as well as increased complications in childbirth and infant mortality and psychological issues, has been assessed to cost health systems USD 1.4 billion a year, with the number rising rapidly. A resolution on the elimination of FGM was passed in 2008 by the World Health Assembly, with WHO acting in all concerned sectors along with a strategy against FGM medicalization.
Zainab Jama has pledged to continue her work in advocating against FGM and will be competing in the Finale of Miss World on 31 May, which will be held at the HITEX Exhibition Centre in Hyderabad, Telangana, India.
