Fatu Banora

“I’m not a victim. I’m a survivor.”

She was born in Guinea-Bissau and arrived in Portugal as a child. She has a sweet voice, a shy smile, and tremendous courage to talk about what she felt she had to hide for many years.

At the age of six, she was subjected to female genital mutilation.

Today, it recognizes this practice as a profound violation of human rights, but refuses to view its history solely through the lens of rebellion or blame. It understands that many of the people who perpetuate this practice grew up in cultural and social contexts where it was presented as something normal, necessary, or even protective.

I can't completely blame people who do that. It's a stigma created by society and perpetuated by tradition and culture.

For many years, she believed that what had been done to her was normal. It wasn't until later that she truly began to understand the physical and emotional impact that experience had on her life.

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