Nimco Ali:
A decade ago Johnson supported my fight against FGM when everyone else was ignoring the issue
Ifirst met Boris Johnson eight years ago on Putney High Street. He was out campaigning as mayor of London and I approached him and asked him for a meeting to discuss the issue of female genital mutilation (FGM). I wasn’t a frontline activist on the issue then; I was still too scared to speak publicly about it.
I didn’t expect much from him but, having seen the issue of FGM affect the lives of so many girls and women in London, I thought I couldn’t miss this opportunity to talk to the mayor. I braced myself to be dismissed by one of his henchmen but went ahead and walked up to him, shouting: “Hey Boris, can I please talk to you about helping to end FGM?”
To my surprise, he stopped what he was doing and spoke to me. We talked and talked. He asked me questions, wanting to know my experience, and how he could help. He didn’t know much about FGM. It wasn’t the front-page issue it is now – at the time only those of us fighting it or living with its horrific consequences really knew about it. He asked, with disbelief: “And it’s happening to little girls you know here in London?” When I told him it was and that I needed his help to keep girls like my niece and cousin safe, he handed me his card and asked me to email him straightaway.
Email I did, and I got a reply that same day. He and his team at City Hall went on to work with me over several years to inform people about FGM and help protect girls in London. I will never forget his kindness, dedication and commitment to helping me.
I was subjected to FGM when I was seven. It was unspeakable agony. When I returned to the UK after it happened, I told my teacher. She looked at me, and replied: “Well,
that’s just what happens to girls like you.” Aged 11, as a result of the FGM, my kidneys stopped working properly and I passed out in the middle of school. I nearly died. But the deepest cuts came from being ignored and dismissed. From doctors and nurses who didn’t ask how I was mentally, as well as physically. They could see the damage that had been done to me, but no one said anything. Nobody seemed horrified at the act of brutality that had put me in hospital.
Boris gave me the confidence to speak up. He listened. He not only helped me find my voice, but has also
I got a reply the same day. I will never forget his kindness, dedication and commitment to helping me
continued to support my work over the years. Since that chance meeting, ending FGM has become an “electoral issue” – but it was Boris who got it first.
I also worked with him in the Foreign Office where one of his priorities was girls’ education. As foreign secretary, he used every platform available to advance the cause of female education around the world, specifically campaigning to make sure that every girl gets 12 years of full-time quality education. We spoke to everyone we could, from Malala to Meghan Markle.
If more political leaders woke up to the benefits – and the fundamental justice – of educating the daughters of their countries just as surely as they educate their sons, we would all be immeasurably better off. It is not just a campaign for fairness and freedom, but it will help fix so many other problems too: not only overpopulation and poverty, but also the threat of war, terrorism, climate change and the loss of habitat and species.
Ending FGM and giving girls access to an education is the single most powerful spur to development and progress. I believe we can and will end FGM in my lifetime. But Boris Johnson as prime minister can help make that happen even sooner. Together, I believe we will change the lives of millions of young girls.
Boris is not just a feminist, but a real champion of women’s rights and for that reason he is one of my feminist heroes. Lots of politicians say things to get votes, others do it because they really want to help people. He’s the latter. And that’s why I’m backing him for the top job.