- Mariya Taher, 33, underwent the painful procedure while she was on holiday in Mumbai, India, as a young girl
- The campaigner, who now lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, said she remembers being taken to an ‘old-looking building’
- She said she does not want to be ‘judged’ or ‘viewed as a victim’
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than 500,000 women and girls in the US could be at risk of FGM
Miranda Bryant For Dailymail.com
3
View
comments
An American woman who underwent female genital mutilation when she was just seven years old has spoken out about undergoing the painful and terrifying procedure while she was on a family vacation in India.
Mariya Taher, now 33, said she remembers being taken to a run-down apartment while on holiday in Mumbai, being made to lay down on the floor, before she had her dress lifted up and felt ‘something sharp cut me’.
The campaigner, who lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has previously spoken out about her experiences before – but used a pseudonym whenever she appeared on camera so as not to put her family in any danger of reprisals, she told ABC News.
Scroll down for video
Survivor: Mariya Taher, 33, pictured, has spoken out about undergoing female gential mutilation when she was seven years old while on holiday in Mumbai, India
Helping hand: The campaigner hopes that by sharing her story so publicly, she will be able to raise awareness about the issue, and offer support to other women like herself
‘I remember being taken to an old-looking building and going up a flight of stairs and going into the apartment building,’ she said.
‘I remember being put on the ground and my dress was pulled up, and I remember something sharp cut me.’
She first told her story last year under the name Sarah, whose sister was cut in the US, with her face obscured because she was worried about people’s reactions and the impact it might have on her family.
She said at the time: ‘I remember feeling pain. I was crying… I was scared during it because it hurt.’
But she has now decided to speak out in a bid to highlight the issue in a bid to help prevent it from happening to others.
‘I felt it was important to let people know that it does happen here in the United States and that it’s something that I’m against and it shouldn’t occur…
‘It’s definitely scary to come out with my face on camera because I don’t want to be judged for having undergone female genital cutting, or viewed as a victim.’
The campaigner added that, while she wishes she had not been cut as a child, she wants to use the painful experience for good.
Mariya started Sahiyo, an organization working to stop cutting through community engagement and education, and she is on the Massachusetts Female Genital Cutting Task Force trying to get state legislation to ban FGM.
‘No one believes I was born male’: Woman releases a…
‘World’s most identical twins’ are left devastated after…
Global issue: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than 500,000 women and girls in the US could be at risk of FGM, a statistic which Mariya hopes to raise more awareness about
Traumatic: The campaigner, who now lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts , said she remembers being taken to an ‘old-looking building’
Voice of strength: Mariya insists that she does not want to be ‘judged’ or ‘viewed as a victim’
Motivations for forcing young females to be cut vary but more than three million girls are estimated to be at risk ever year.
It is most common in western, eastern and north-eastern Africa, parts of the Middle East and Asia but also other parts of the world.
It is illegal to carry out FGM in the US and in 2013 a federal law banned people from sending their children to other countries to have it done.
But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than 500,000 women and girls in the US could be at risk of FGM at some point during their lives.
The World Health Organization identifies four different types of FGM which vary in severity.
Type one is a clitoridectomy, ‘the partial or total removal of the clitoris’ or skin around the clitoris, and type two is often described as excision, when the clitoris and the labia minora are partially or fully removed.
The third type is infibulation – ‘the narrowing of the vaginal opening through the creation of a covering seal’ – and type four is used to describe all other harmful mutilation of the female genitalia for non-medically-related reasons such as pricking and piercing.
Potential side effects of FGM include bleeding, infections, problems during childbirth and potentially fatal for newborns.
Share or comment on this article
See the moment sheriffs raided Neverland ranch in 2003
Mateen’s ‘gay lover’: Pulse was revenge after threesome…
Two sisters in a Tennessee IHop get into a full on brawl
Adorable moment when police dog and handler are reunited
Motorcyclist gets into a fight with a driver outside of…
Chaotic scenes outside Michael Jackson’s 2004 arraignment
Actor Anton Yelchin dies after his Jeep slams him into a…
Romp of otters prank confused dog playing in the water
Cheerleader charged in connection with homeless man death
Baby girl not pleased with her dad’s clean shaven new look
Woman punched and kicked in the head in vicious Paris attack
Adorable dog tries everything to push cat off his bed
Michael Jackson’s secret underage sex closet: Inside the…
Paranoid much? Security-conscious Mark Zuckerberg covers his…
Michael Jackson underage sex collection: The photos of naked…
EXCLUSIVE: Secret Service officer tells how Bill Clinton and…
Puerto Rican man claims he was Orlando shooter’s gay lover…
EXCLUSIVE: Grand opening! Inside Tom Cruise’s new $50…
Michael Jackson’s twisted pornography collection is…
Pictured: Selma Blair is comforted by two nurses after her…
Star Trek actor Anton Yelchin died of his injuries in less…
EXCLUSIVE – Sinister watchtowers, dirt-poor ‘comrades’ doing…
Army mascot Jaguar is SHOT DEAD moments after being…
Revealed: How tragic heroin overdose of model daughter, aged…
Comments (3)
Share what you think
-
Newest -
Oldest -
Best rated -
Worst rated
The comments below have been moderated in advance.
The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.
Find out now