“I needed to protect my future …”

Charity and her friend Lucy (who is a golddigger in Vetlanda - believe it
or not. See Guldström.) I am sure they have a special protection from Mary,
the mother of Jesus (this version painted by Maria Eklöw Bosaeus)

Yesterday we had visitors at our school (the Church of Sweden Institute for Pastoral Education). Charity Resian, a young woman from Kenya, is a Master Student at Uppsala University. She was invited to come and speak about Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and she had brought colleagues from the University and some friends. But Charity herself was of course the guest of honour.

She showed us a 30 minutes movie portraying her own story in relation to FGM. After the movie she answered questions. Briefly she refused to go through FGM at the age of twelve. This affected her whole family. She was the first in her community to refuse. Her mother didn’t, as far I understood, agree with her from the beginning but after some time, even she understood that her daughters struggle was righteous.

Both the movie and Charity’s whole appearance filled us with hope. One person can make a difference. Today the community acts differently. There is a possibility for girls to say no to FGM without being stigmatized.

Charity told us that she hopes that the short movie will be developed into a documentary. I really hope this will come true. More people need to watch it. To see Charity and her mother talking about this painful journey is life affirming. The film does not downplay the pain and suffering. But right through shines a hopeful light.