My mother often told me that "women have to suffer, women have to endure". She would say "you have to keep your mouth shut whatever the circumstance because a woman is the granary where all secrets are kept". It was this way of thinking that my sisters and I, as so many other generations of women before us, had to grow up with.

I am from Mali, a Fulani woman of Diawando origin, just over 50 years old. In my family, the majority of girls (including myself) were excised and, in most cases by infibulation, the most severe form of female genital mutilation (FGM).

We suffered and we continue to suffer both in flesh and in spirit from the consequences of this practice. We thought the pain was normal; we were not supposed to express it, to show it or to talk about it. This is what our culture taught us, and we had to accept it.

A lifetime of suffering in silence

I don’t remember how old I was when I was excised. Nor do I remember if I had any difficulties immediately after being excised. But, I do remember that throughout puberty, I suffered a lot when I had my period; it was painful and I missed at least one or two days of school each month.

Because I was the eldest in my family, my parents really wanted me to go to school, but to give the other girls in my family the chance to go as well, I really had to excel in my studies.

You have no idea of the disappointment, terror and suffering a girl goes through on her wedding day when she realizes that, after been excised, she has to suffer another kind of surgery before the marriage can be consummated.

The process of infibulation creates a wall of skin and flesh across the vagina and the rest of the pubic area to render a girl sexually inactive. The connected tissue has to be cut with a knife before sexual intercourse can take place.

In most cases the intervention is done by a practitioner without any anaesthesia and with poor respect for hygiene, often being performed on the bathroom floor. It is only afterward that the girl is considered free and is expected to have her first sexual experience the same day.

There are no words to express the shame, fear and pain such a bride has to face. The only thing she can do is to accept the situation.

Fighting against tradition

When, in 2001, Plan International Mali gave me the opportunity to coordinate a project to fight against FGM, I knew immediately that my own family would be the first barrier as they would never accept that I was contributing to this fight.

It was not easy for me, and for the first six months I was not able to tell my mother that I had joined Plan International Mali. The day my mother found out where I was working, she told me “you have to resign, a child from a good family should not discuss sensitive issues such as excision in public."

My mother’s way of thinking demonstrates the ignorance that people have towards the complications and negative health effects FGM has on women and especially girls. I finally convinced her and received her support. She is very traditional and conservative and I had to remind her of the complications that had occurred in our own family. This gave me the strength and confidence to fully commit myself to the fight to end this harmful practice.

Female genital mutilation - called excision in Mali - is without doubt one of the most extreme forms of violence against girls and is a violation of their fundamental rights. The practice is very old and traditional in Mali, based on culture with an unjustified link to religion. All regions in Mali practice excision, with a lower rate in the North.

FGM is a traditional ritual to prepare girls for womanhood, usually carried out before they are married between the ages of 13 and 15. However, it is sometimes practiced on girls under five in rural areas and under 40 days in urban areas. A girl this age is much too young to speak out about her rights.

The complications of FGM are rife, not just from a health perspective but in terms of education too. FGM leads to painful periods and infection, which can have a negative impact on girls’ education. Many girls are unable to go school due to the pain and when they are there, it’s hard to concentrate.

Further complications arise from those suffering urinary incontinence. Teased by their peers, girls are discriminated against and feel forced to leave school.

Plan International’s intervention

According to a World Health Organization report, 85% of women between the ages of 15 and 49 have been excised in Mali. A baseline study conducted by Plan International Mali in December 2010 in its intervention areas showed that the overall prevalence of FGM is 50% for girls between 0 and 5 and 78% for girls between 6 and14.

The report indicated that 53 % of fathers and 36% of mothers in areas where Plan International is working against FGM want to maintain the practice, while 57% of girls and 44% of boys are ready to fight against excision. This is an important indicator because, as future parents, the practice is likely to continue if there is no action taken to encourage children to oppose FGM.

Using a multidimensional approach based on local initiatives to promote children's rights and the fight against FGM, Plan International Mali and partners have broken taboos and opened up the debate around FGM.

This has given girls the opportunity to voice their opinions and encouraged them to address the issue in public, with their parents, authorities and leaders. In fact, Plan International is working with 180 villages across Mali, educating communities about the risks of FGM. The elimination of FGM will only truly happen when communities themselves agree on the need for change and work with authorities to bring it about. Following a variety of awareness raising sessions, talks and exhibitions, 74 communities have now banned FGM.