Female genital mutilation survivor who escaped to the UK is now preparing to help other victims

A female genital mutilation survivor who was forced to flee to safety in the UK after being operated on against her parent's will is now desperate to help other victims - by training as a police officer.

Shamsa Sharawe, 29 - who grew up living with extended family in a small Somalian town called Muuqokore - was left in agony after being circumcised with a dirty razor at just six years of age.

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) - or Female Genital Cutting as it is now referred to thanks to Shamsa’s campaign to have the name changed - involves the partial or total removal of external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.

The brutal procedure was arranged by someone known to Shamsa.

When her devastated mother, Gani, who was living in Saudi Arabia, found out what had happened, she hatched a plan for her daughter to escape to the UK.

In November 2001, Shamsa and her mother were able to secure visas and move to Wembley, north west London.

Shamsa joined a local school, and it was during sex education lessons that she realised the extent of the brutality she had faced.

Shama said: “The trauma hit me all at once. I felt like half a woman.

“I felt so insecure as a teenager and didn’t feel desirable at all.

“I thought it would be better if no one knew so I carried that secret for years, and it really affected my mental health.

“I was confused and struggling with my personal and cultural identity.

''I felt like I didn’t belong anywhere.

“I started making videos for YouTube about everything I had been through, and I realised that so many other women shared my burden.

''I wanted to join the police because of the experiences I had within the Somalian community. Crimes committed in our community are kept silent. It is very rare for young girls to report a crime due to fear of shame. The silencing culture within my culture is something I want to end.

“I want to show my community, and other communities that suffer from honour-based violence, that they have someone within the police that they can trust. Someone that looks like them and hears their concerns.

''It feels amazing to know that I can do something to help young people who haven’t had a voice for so long. I cannot wait to represent them and fight for them.”