<p>Some conversations stay with you long after they end and speaking with Hibo Wardere is one of them.</p><p>Hibo is one of the UK’s most courageous and compelling campaigners against female genital mutilation (FGM). She is a teacher, author, and advocate whose voice has reshaped how schools, safeguarding teams, and medical professionals understand this form of violence. But to talk with her is to understand something more fundamental: Hibo has always questioned the stories she was given.</p><p></p><p>Growing up as a Somali girl, she heard the traditional narratives passed down through generations, stories meant to explain, to justify, to silence. But Hibo never liked them. Even as a child, something in her refused to accept the logic, the cruelty, or the inevitability they claimed. That instinct, that internal rebellion, is the foundation of the woman she became.</p><p>The story she chose to tell - the one she wrote in her remarkable memoir <em>Cut</em> soon being made into a big screen film which begins in production next year - has already made and will continue to make an incredible impact. After decades of silence surrounding FGM, Hibo’s voice will reach even wider audiences, shaping the narrative on a scale unimaginable when she was that questioning young girl. As she told us she is ‘everywhere’. Her determination knows no bounds.</p><p>In our interview, she describes training doctors who still ask her, <em>‘Is it actually happening here?’</em> Her frustration is palpable and justified. ‘Would you ever ask whether child molestation is still happening?’ she replies. </p><p>Hibo intends to change that and with her team at <a target="_blank" href="https://educatenotmutilate.org/">Educate not Mutilate</a> she already is.</p><p></p><p>While this interview is about Hibo’s story, it is also about resistance, agency, the refusal to accept inherited narratives, and the courage it takes to tell a story powerful enough to rewrite a future. Hibo’s life is testament to that courage.</p><p>We are honoured to share her words with you.</p><p>Please do look at her <a target="_blank" href="https://educatenotmutilate.org/">website and donate to support her charity</a> or consider other ways that you could support her amazing work.</p><p>Please, listen to her message. Be fierce. Continue the fight.</p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://shewrotetoo.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_1">shewrotetoo.substack.com</a>