“When I was seven, I was subjected to female genital mutilation. It stole part of my childhood. It caused me a great deal of harm.”
For Aissatu, now 21, these words are not a memory from a distant past — they describe a reality that continues to shape her life today.
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is often spoken about in abstract terms: as a “harmful practice,” a “tradition,” a “health issue.” But for survivors like Aissatu, it is deeply personal. It is pain carried in the body. It is silence enforced by fear. And it is a childhood cut short.
Aissatu was just seven years old when she was subjected to FGM. She did not consent. She did not understand what was happening. What she did understand was fear and pain.
“Having lived through its cruelty, I now raise my voice,” she says. “I am not afraid. I feel no shame in telling those around me my truth.”
That courage did not come easily. Like many survivors, Aissatu grew up surrounded by silence — in a community where FGM is rarely questioned and where girls are expected to endure their suffering quietly.
“I know many girls drown in shame and are choked by unspoken fears,” she explains. “They are terrified of being judged or ostracised, especially by peers who cannot imagine their pain.”
The harm caused by FGM did not end when Aissatu’s childhood did. As she grew older, the consequences became part of her daily life.
“To this day, I suffer the consequences,” she says. “They are not just memories — it is my daily reality, especially in my marriage.”
Intimacy, which should be a source of connection and closeness, is often painful and difficult.
“Sometimes it is so painful that it feels like breaking, not bonding.”
Yet even here, Aissatu’s story is not only one of pain.
In her husband, Aissatu found understanding rather than judgment.
“I have shared every fear, every painful moment and every frustration with him,” she says. “He listens — not with pity, but with understanding.”
His patience and compassion have helped transform a deeply personal struggle into a shared journey, grounded in love and trust.
“My story is a testament not only to enduring pain,” Aissatu says, “but also to enduring love and growing courage.”
Most people in Aissatu’s community do not know she is a survivor. Shame and stigma continue to silence many women and girls who have experienced FGM.
But Aissatu no longer remains quiet.
“When I hear people defending this practice, I speak out,” she says. “Your pain is valid, and your voice deserves to be heard.”
She also urges girls and women to seek help and support where it exists.
“There is a way forward,” she says. “Help is available in clinics and hospitals, and from dedicated human rights defenders. In these places, you can find treatment and the power of knowledge — the truth about your body, your rights and your freedom from shame.”
FGM remains widespread in Guinea-Bissau, where more than 400,000 girls and women alive today have experienced the practice. Over half of women aged 15–49 have been subjected to FGM, with girls in rural areas at greatest risk.
Although FGM is prohibited by law, enforcement is inconsistent. Fear of social exclusion prevents reporting, and some families take girls across borders to neighbouring countries to avoid detection.
At the core of the practice is intense pressure to conform. Many families believe an uncut girl will not be accepted for marriage — often seen as her only path to social and economic security. These norms are deeply rooted, but they are not unchangeable.
Plan International works with communities in Guinea-Bissau to prevent FGM by strengthening child protection systems, empowering girls and young people, and working with community and religious leaders to challenge harmful social norms. Through long-term, gender-transformative programming, Plan helps uphold girls’ rights so they can grow up safe, supported and free from violence.
Aissatu’s voice is part of that change.
“I am speaking out now so that other girls can live without this scar,” she says, “and so that they can experience safety, wholeness and a future free from being cut.”
No girl should lose her childhood to FGM. No woman should live with lifelong pain because of a practice rooted in inequality and fear.
By supporting Plan International’s work, you can help protect girls from FGM, support survivors with care and counselling, and change the social norms that allow this practice to continue.
Your support helps ensure that future generations of girls never have to tell this story as their own.
Your generosity saves lives. Your support changes futures.
From working to end child marriage to keeping kids in school during crises, together we can make a difference where it’s needed most.
