Who is Shamsa Sharawe, the woman turning trauma into fight against genital mutilation

Some experiences in our childhood affect us in a way that leaves a dent in life that can seldom be repaired. For TikToker Shamsa Sharawe, her childhood experiences not only changed her life but made her courageous enough to change others'.

Sharawe who is famous for her funny TikTok videos is one of the very few influencers who talk about something important, about a tradition that has haunted the childhood of thousands of women and girls of Somalia where their genitalia was cut with a blade as a part of a tradition. Not everyone is born with a healthy body, but when it's God's decision to deprive you of a body part it is more acceptable than when the decision is made by a human just to follow an old and baseless tradition.Now, at 32 not only is Sharawe fighting against it but has also made moves to get back what was unjustly stolen from her. In 2023, she travelled from her home in Britain to Germany where she went under the knife to get an adult vulva- an external female genitalia.“I will finally have a clitoris. I will finally know what my vulva was meant to look like. And I can finally live in a body that I don’t view as being my enemy,” she said to her 9-year-old daughter in a video she was recording for her before the surgery.

What is female genital mutilation?

In Somalia, the tradition of female genital mutilation is traditional. Young girls are subjected to the tradition and asked to never speak about it. Those who are uncut are considered to be unclean, unreligious and incapable of controlling their sexual desires. According to a 2020 survey of the Federal Government of the Republic of Somalia, 99.2% of Somali women between the ages of 15-49 had been subjected to FGM.According to the UN Women organization, more than 2 million girls experience female genital mutilation annually, often before their fifth birthday or days after being born.

This practice is most common in sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab states where the number of girls born annually is expected to grow by 62% by 2050.Female genital mutilation refers to all procedures where partial or total removal of female external genitalia takes place for non-medical reasons. The process is classified into four types by the World Health Organization: Clitoridectomy, partial or total removal of clitoris and/or its surrounding tissue Excision, partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia minora with or without the removal of the labia majoraInfibulation, narrowing of the vaginal opening by creating a seal, formed by cutting and repositioning the labiaAll other harmful procedures to the genitalia for non-medical purposes including pricking, piercing, scraping or more. While the tradition is illegal, it is still partaken by women who keep on believing in it. As a result, many die a painful death while others like Sharawe carry the pain, trauma, lack of sexual pleasure and the decision to give birth, all their lives.

Shamsa Sharawe's fight against Female Genital Mutilation

It is common in the current era for the victims to raise their voices in a world of headphone-filled ears. Until and unless it is not interesting enough, it is not worth listening to.

And Sharawe understands this. She is one of the many women who have experienced FGM and are being listened to by the public. Not only her own daughter but even her friends follow the TikToker who posts with the name Shamsa Araweelo."It may be graphic," she said in an interview with The New York Times last summer, adding that, "This happened to me. You can take a little graphic."

Sharawe's journey of recovery

When she was younger, she was told that the cutter had removed her entire clitoris.

But now, the doctors informed her that only a part of it was lost, with the rest still intact under scar tissue.Since the genital reconstruction surgery is not available under Britain's National Health Service, Sharawe had to crowdfund more than 20,000 euros (about $22,700) to travel to Germany and get operated.While the surgery can ease survivors' pain, it can also make the clitoral function worse, as per the World Health Organization.

However, in Sharawe's case, it was a happy ending. The doctor used the part of her remaining clitoris to create a new clitoral tip. Additionally, he placed her nerve endings so that her vulva would be fully functional."I can’t feel my foot. It’s OK! Because I have a vulva,” she said after her surgery. While she was eased from the constant pain and has regained her clitoris, she faced some concerns with her medical debt as she wasn't able to raise enough amount to pay the full cost of her care.

Fighting for a cause

The N.H.S. provides every kind of medical treatment with no deductibles and co-payments. It offers gender-affirming surgery for transgender people and even size-reducing surgeries for labia minora, pointed out Sharawe.Yet for the survivors of cutting, who are tens of thousands in the UK, the N.H.S only offers de-infibulation- surgery to open a sealed vagina, common in Somalia, Sudan and Djibouti.Sharawe has been actively seeking to get the N.H.S. to fund the surgery which many survivors say is life-changing. In 2024, she even started a petition for this. “We’re telling you what we need, and you are not listening," she said, addressing the N.H.S.While she may have gotten her clitoris back, she understands not everyone can take the initiative to crowdfund and thus, the fight has just begun.