Survivors Story

Aridja ZAKARI, Survivor of Female Genital Mutilation from the Village of Tindjassi Sarakawa in the Village where I Selifa McGreevy was Mutilated.

I had it done to me, and thank God I didn’t experience any problems, but one of us suffered greatly. She lost blood throughout the day of the excision. When she started feeling dizzy, she was taken to the hospital, and the doctors were able to stop the bleeding. She was never well again until adulthood. Today she is married but cannot conceive. Another example: Two girls were circumcised, but one of them died. I will never allow it to be done to my daughters. No matter the financial offer, I will never give in because of what I myself went through.

Roubatou TCHEDRE, Survivor of Female Genital Mutilation from the Village of Tindjassi Sarakawa in the Village where I Selifa McGreevy was Mutilated.

Female genital mutilation has caused immense damage. It has claimed the lives of many of our sisters. I myself, as I speak to you, was a victim. The first time it was done to me, it didn’t go as they intended. They did it to me a second time, and it was the same. When they decided to do it to me a third time, I fled home to seek refuge with a Kabye chief. That’s where they came to get me and bring me back home. And for this third time, it was large men who held me still so they could do it to me. Because of everything I’ve experienced, I’ve vowed that whatever the offer, I will never want it done to my daughter.

Soumeya Saidou, Survivor of Female Genital Mutilation from the Village of Tindjassi Sarakawa in the Village where I Selifa McGreevy was Mutilated.

Because of female genital mutilation, I have no desire for sex. I no longer consider myself a woman because I have no sexual desire. We demand that this practice be stopped because we have been truly deceived. When they wanted to do it to us, we fiercely opposed it, but our parents forced us. One of us took a great risk; her existence is a miracle from God. I am not yet 40 years old, and yet I feel no sexual desire. People say that women are often aroused, but I have never had that chance. One of our friends, who died as a result of this mutilation, had said no, but she was forced, and today she is no longer with us. This is why drastic measures have been taken in our community to discourage perpetrators. These perpetrators are being prosecuted. For me to have sex with my husband, he has to force me first. A pact has now been signed here, and anyone who betrays it will die without hesitation. Furthermore, we are investigating, and if we discover anyone, we will report them to the police.

Awa DAOUDA, Survivor of Female Genital Mutilation from the Village of Tindjassi Sarakawa in the Village where I Selifa McGreevy was Mutilated.

Since my excision, I no longer experience pleasure during sexual intercourse, and no matter how attractive a man is, I feel no attraction.

My name is KEGBAO Adjiro Amina, wife of TCHAKONDO from the Village of Tindjassi Sarakawa in the Village where I Selifa McGreevy was Mutilated.

I am 65 years old. I am married and the mother of four children. I am Togolese and my ethnicity is Tem. I am from the prefecture of Assili, the commune of Soudou, the village of Tchalimdè, and the Wade clan. I was circumcised at the age of 9 under all forms of social pressure (swearing, insults, intimidation, and the glorification of this act). My father was a gendarme in the French army and later a customs officer; he did not want his children to suffer this ordeal. I used to spend my holidays with my maternal grandmother in Gandè, a village located a few kilometers from my birthplace. So, during the school holidays of 1970, I went to see her as usual. I felt very happy. My grandmother was surrounded by several young girls. They had already undergone female genital mutilation (FGM). When I arrived, each of them mocked me for having a clitoris; sometimes they even showed me their genitals so I could tell the difference. After all this boasting, born of ignorance, I told my grandmother that I wanted to have it done. It was, in fact, her wish. And so it was done with great determination and motivation. I was the only one that day to be circumcised. You can’t imagine my joy at no longer being treated like I had a clitoris. Today, I regret this act, which remains and will remain indelible. Only I know my own strength. I will do everything in my power to ensure that there is zero FGM in my community. Thank you to those who want to help me in this fight.

Hello everyone, my name is Akondo Adjei, from the Village of Tindjassi Sarakawa in the Village where I Selifa McGreevy was Mutilated. I am a mother of four boys and I am 54 years old.

I am a woman who underwent female genital mutilation (FGM). I was 10 years old, very early one morning in 1982. I was awake at 5:00 AM, waiting for my cousins ​​and neighbors in our schoolyard. I thought that since I was still young, it wasn’t our time yet. To my great surprise, my grandmother called me over for FGM. I had no choice. So there I was, very young, among eight other girls. At that time, it was a source of pride for a girl to be circumcised. After two days, I went through a nightmare. I couldn’t urinate, and they said it was stuck. It had to be removed so they could wash me. So every morning, very early, they heated water in a large pot, and they made us take turns going in. We shower to dress our wounds, using black soap to clean the wound, and then rinse with hot water.

Violence against women and children has been around for thousands of years. Sadly, it is still
going on today.  In fact, every 11 seconds, a girl is a victim of domestic or sexual abuse
including, genital mutilation.

My name is Selifa Boukari McGreevy, I was born in Sokodé,  central Togo, For the past 25 years, I have lived in Las Vegas, Nevada, as a U.S. citizen alongside my American husband. I’m also the proud founder of the Mother Hippo Foundation, based in Las Vegas, Nevada, A— nonprofit dedicated to empowering women and promoting healing across Africa and diaspora communities. 

I come from a Muslim family deeply affected by FGM, as my mother, my sister, myself, and many of my cousins have also endured this heinous, brutal and harmful practice. My mother, my sister, myself, and many of my cousins have endured this heinous, brutal, cruel and harmful practice. It has left deep physical, emotional, and psychological scars, damaging relationships, and haunting generations. 

Like millions of women worldwide, we have faced its devastating consequences, impacting not just our lives but also those of our spouses. As you might appreciate, the emotional toll of such trauma can severely affect relationships.

The hopelessness and rage of the woman who experience FGM becomes embedded deeper within them, coloring every event, informing every one of their movements, crumbling intimacy and freezing any reach towards empowerment. For too many women is an end a terribly young age to the fullness they could have experienced in life, deeper and more ferocious in many ways than the loss of a limb or of sight or hearing, for each of these may be somewhat adjusted and adapted to as a way back to the feeling of normalcy, but not so with this brutal forceful act. 

FGM is practiced across various races and cultures, but it remains most prevalent within Muslim communities. On March 19, 2024, I was heartbroken to read in The New York Times that Gambia was legalizing FGM. It is unfathomable that in the 21st century, this mindset persists. FGM has existed for over 2,000 years, and innocent girls continue to suffer every 11 seconds in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the United States. If we do not persist in our fight against this practice, we risk condemning our daughters to the same fate for generations to come. 

As an advocate, I have so much respect for everybody’s beliefs. But FGM is not a religions, tradition, or medical obligation, it is a human rights violation. We must protect our daughters…….now. 

FGM has no place in any society. 

I’m sure that a lot parents around the world, value the well-being of their children above all else.  For the sake of the future generations of African girls. 

I respectfully seek everybody’s support on our mission to put an end to FGM worldwide. 

I call on the United Nations, UN Women, UNICEF, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and all Member States to support this social media campaign against Female Genital Mutilation. Let us make 2026 the year Africa Ends this cruel practice——-Together. 

I’m Selifa Boukari McGreevy.

I’m a survivor, I’m African, I’m Muslim, and I will not bsilent. 

I thank you for considering this vital cause. 

Together——-we will end this.