My story
My name is Fatuma Nabosu. I am a young woman from Kenya living in Hamburg, Germany. Although I see myself as a Kenyan, I have joined forces with other women from around the world to fight for girls’ and Women’s rights by taking a firm stand against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).
As a survivor of FGM, I started campaigning against it a long time ago. I was born in Marsabit County in Northern Kenya and grew up with my parents in Loiyangalani village on the shores of Lake Turkana. We belong to the Rendille ethnic group, one of the Cushitic-speaking peoples. We sometimes refer ourself as the “Holders of the Stick of God” because we celebrate the Old Testament Passover festival of “Sorio”. I am happy to have been born a Rendille. I love my people, I love our culture! It is my identity.
On the other hand, I do not agree with some parts of my culture that determine the life of women there.
I am radically opposed to FGM, child marriage and child labour because they violate human rights.
If there is one thing I will never forget as a survivor of FGM, it is the night I was sent out to buy three razor blades when I was six years old. The next morning at around 7:30 they used them on me. By then most of the village was awake, and more than thirty men and women were sitting outside our house, waiting to look between the legs of me and my two sisters, aged four and five, as an old woman from the neighbouring village cut off our clitorises. Imagine my sisters and I sitting on the floor with our legs spread and everyone staring at our genitals. Not only did we have to endure the pain, but we also had to listen to people saying things like “Oh, she’s still a virgin” and many other things.
Fatuma Nabosu (far left) at a demonstration against female genital mutilation in Bremen in 2024
As I was the oldest of the three, tradition dictated that I should be the first to be circumcised. As the old woman approached my clitoris with the sharp razor blade and began to cut it off, I felt the pain deep in my heart, which I still remember today, 35 years later.
I am now a mother of two children. The birth of my children was extremely difficult and I gave birth to them in unspeakable, unbearable pain. However, FGM is still present in my everyday life and cannot be forgotten. The circumcision itself had serious consequences for me: excessive bleeding, vomiting. I felt as if the thorns were penetrating deeper and deeper into my body. After two weeks, we were allowed to go outside for the first time. I remember my friends, with whom I played, pointing at my legs, which were thick and brown. I hadn’t even noticed, I was so naive.
As I grew into a young girl, I began to understand what my friends had told me: my legs had been swollen for a long time due to excessive bleeding after circumcision.
All these experiences made me strong. I have been in Hamburg since 2014 and now work there with many other women against FGM. My big dream of setting up a girls’ rescue centre in my village is now beginning to come true. You can follow the development of my dream on this website. All my painful experiences are the reason why I raise my voice. I say: “FGM – let me end it”.
I and my fellow campaigners would be very grateful for your support and we would appreciate it if you could help us to make our dreams come true, to give the girls in my village a safe home and an education.