Pictured: Hibo Wardere
This past fall, I had the incredible opportunity to represent my school as one of three selected speakers at the International Independent Schools’ Public Speaking Competition. At the tournament, I competed in three categories, Persuasive Speaking, Interpretive Reading, and Impromptu Speaking. For my persuasive speech, I decided to focus on the issue of female genital mutilation (FGM), and I wanted to share some of my research and thoughts on this topic in this blog post.
Honestly, when I first considered writing my speech about this topic, I was a little unsure and nervous about speaking on FGM in front of a large audience. However, as I learned more about this practice and heard the stories of the women who had endured this mutilation, I realized that this issue needed to be talked about more and brought to light.
Throughout my research process, I learned about influential activists like Hibo Wardere, Seio Bangura, and Mariam Kako. As one example, Hibo Wardere was subjected to FGM at the age of six and is now an author and campaigner against this form of mutilation. I was awed by her strength, and I strongly encourage you to read more about these women through the additional resources below.
At the tournament, I ended up winning the Persuasive Speaking category, but, even more than my performance, I am so glad I had the opportunity to highlight an issue that many people might not have known about and illuminate the voices of other women around the world.
Thank you for reading!
Works Consulted/Additional Resources:
Comments