6: Cut with Hibo Wardere

I reached out to my guest, Hibo Wardere, in this week's episode after hearing her being interviewed on BBC Radio 2 with Jeremy Vine

She was real, raw and authentic and wasn't afraid to say it like it was and I thought she was a warrior! And I'm very grateful to say that she has now become a dear friend

At the age of six, she was the victim of type 3 FGM, an event she has described as "being engulfed in pain from head to toe". 

Every day for the next ten years, she sought answers from her mother, but was always denied a response. When she was 16, she finally struck a deal with a relative, who promised to tell her everything about what happened after her wedding night. She was horrified by the revelations, and soon fled to London after the civil war broke out in the 1989 when she was just a teenager

 She currently works as a mediator and an FGM educator. Her testimonials and campaigning work have made her one of Britain’s most prominent campaigners about FGM and she has appeared in numerous publications including the Telegraph, the BBC and The Guardian

Some key points from our interview:

• How looking back she now understands that she was groomed just before she was cut at six years old
• How she believes that FGM is a form of child abuse
• How she has changed from being silenced and introverted by her experience to being outspoken and is passionate about speaking out
• How she's never looked back after she was invited to speak at the school she volunteered at, even though she was terrified
• How she's now determined to do all she can as an FGM activist and speaker, to end this global barbaric practise 

"I was never broken, I was just hidden under the rubbles of pain" - Hibo Wardere 

You can get more information about Hibo here: https://www.facebook.com/hibo.wardere
                                                                        
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"Unbroken: Healing Through Storytelling" features  individuals who have all triumphed after adversity and have not just bounced back in life, but forward and are now making a difference for others.

Hosted by Madeleine Black, the show will share stories of all the amazing people Madeleine has met on her own journey as an author/speaker and these stories will heal, motivate, inspire and bring hope when they share their wisdom and knowledge with her.

She really believes in the power that comes when we share our stories, that in fact we are not story tellers but story healers. Tune in to discover what helped them to stay unbroken and together we will discover that none of us are broken beyond repair.

You can find out more about Madeleine, her story and her memoir, Unbroken,  from her website: https://madeleineblack.co.uk/
Watch edited highlights on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/c/MadeleineBlackUnbroken
Follow on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/unbrokenthepodcastwithmb 

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