"I WAS THE CHILD": Poem on FGM by our ambassador Deborah Odeworitse Oniah

Deborah Odeworitse Blankson is a lawyer and trauma studies expert dedicated to creating inclusive, trauma-informed community spaces. As an advocate and End FGM European Network Ambassador, she uses her voice and art to inspire healing and empower survivors. This poem reflects her journey of reclaiming self-love and freedom after the harm of female genital mutilation (FGM).

I WAS THE CHILD

written by Deborah Odeworitse Oniah
and Chinyere Esther Umekwe

You took from me,

But I am the one who carries the pain,

A wound unseen, but never forgotten.

I am the one who carried the shame for years,

And the weight of a scar I did not choose.

In my marriage,

what was taken from me became a cage,

A wedge between love and intimacy,

Reducing me to a vessel,

A machine for life, for just childbirth but not for living.

A vessel to bear, to endure, to obey.

I know better now.

It was never my shame to carry.

I was the child,

I was innocent,

I was the victim.

The victim of this culture,

of this society,

Of my family’s blind tradition.

A tradition that never supported me and will never support any girl child.

Female Genital Mutilation no longer has to be.

Today, I reclaim myself.

I pour love into my wounds,

Compassion into my scars.

I forgive what I can,

And release what I cannot.

I cradle myself in grace,

In care,

In the fullness of my being.

For I am more than what you took.

You broke a part of me,

But you did not break all of me.

I rise from the ashes of Female Genital Mutilation traditions,

I am whole despite the loss.

I am the woman I am becoming,

And this woman is free.