Female Genital Mutilation Quotes

“These tribal wars, like the practice of circumcision, are brought about by the ego, selfishness, and aggression of men. I hate to say that, but it’s true. Both acts stem from their obsession with their territory—their possessions—and women fall into that category both culturally and legally. Perhaps if we cut their balls off, my country would become paradise. The men would calm down and be more sensitive to the world. Without that constant surge of testosterone, there’d be no war, no killing, no thieving, no rape. And if we chopped off their private parts, and turned them loose to run around and either bleed to death or survive, maybe they could understand for the first time what they’re doing to their women.”
― Waris Dirie, Desert Flower

“Female genital mutilation predates Islam. Not all Muslims do this, and a few of the peoples who do are not Islamic. But in Somalia, where virtually every girl is excised, the practice is always justified in the name of Islam. Uncircumcised girls will be possessed by devils, fall into vice and perdition, and become whores. Imams never discourage the practice: it keeps girls pure.”
― Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Infidel

“In Somalia, like many countries across Africa and the Middle East, little girls are made "pure" by having their genitals cut out. There is no other way to describe this procedure, which typically occurs around the age of five. After the child's clitoris and labia are carved out, scraped off, or, in more compassionate areas, merely cut or pricked, the whole area is often sewn up, so that a thick band of tissue forms a chastity belt made of the girl's own scarred flesh. A small hole is carefully situated to permit a thin flow of pee. Only great force can tear the scar tissue wider, for sex.”
― Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Infidel

“Why are so many Americans for male circumcision but against female circumcision? Both are equally cruel and barbaric traditions.”
― Oliver Markus Malloy, Inside The Mind of an Introvert: Comics, Deep Thoughts and Quotable Quotes

“The emotional scars of FGM are as deep as the physical ones, serving as a constant reminder of the violation”
― Hagir Elsheikh, Through Tragedy and Triumph: A Life Well Traveled

“You can break a body, but you can never break a spirit that chooses to rise despite the hurt.”
― Hagir Elsheikh, Through Tragedy and Triumph: A Life Well Traveled

“I had to learn the hard way that my body was my own, and no tradition or culture had the right to tell me otherwise.”
― Hagir Elsheikh, Through Tragedy and Triumph: A Life Well Traveled

“FGM is a cycle of oppression that can only be stopped through education and collective action”
― Hagir Elsheikh, Through Tragedy and Triumph: A Life Well Traveled

“FGM does not just mutilate the body; it destroys self-esteem, confidence, and the sense of being whole”
― Hagir Elsheikh, Through Tragedy and Triumph: A Life Well Traveled

“We cannot change the way society views women until we address the mixed messages we send about their value”
― Hagir Elsheikh, Through Tragedy and Triumph: A Life Well Traveled

“When a girl is forced to endure such a violation, she learns to question everything about herself, her worth, her value, and her power.”
― Hagir Elsheikh, Through Tragedy and Triumph: A Life Well Traveled

“Through pain, I realized that healing is not just about removing scars; it is about reclaiming the voice stolen from you”
― Hagir Elsheikh, Through Tragedy and Triumph: A Life Well Traveled

“My journey taught me that the most powerful tool in overcoming trauma is the will to speak, the courage to be heard”
― Hagir Elsheikh, Through Tragedy and Triumph: A Life Well Traveled

“When you take away a woman’s right to control her own body, you take away her very essence. But reclaiming that power is a revolution only she can lead”
― Hagir Elsheikh, Through Tragedy and Triumph: A Life Well Traveled

“There is no shame in healing. The shame lies in allowing the silence of abuse to continue.”
― Hagir Elsheikh, Through Tragedy and Triumph: A Life Well Traveled

“No child should feel the burden of a society’s fear, and no woman should carry the weight of cultural oppression. We must teach them to rise above it.”
― Hagir Elsheikh, Through Tragedy and Triumph: A Life Well Traveled

“So, you far maiden of my people,
Maiden in education and civility,
Victim of the wedging knife,
Target of the whetting stone.
I love thee unblemished.
I abhor thee mutilated.”
― Olomunyak Ole Marine, The Princess Crown Land

“Here is my belief. The first man was jealous of the first woman. Her lightning was too powerful, her screams and moans loud enough to wake up the dead. That man could never accept that the gods would gift the weaker woman with such riches, so before every girl becomes a woman, man sets up to steal it, cut it away, and throw it in the bush. But the gods put it there, hid it deep so that no man would have business going to find it. Man will pay for this.”
― Marlon James, Black Leopard, Red Wolf