'I was told 'this is what your mum wanted' before I passed out'

At the age of 10, Khatra Paterson was sent by her parents on a plane to East Africa under the guise of a holiday. However, upon arrival in Djibouti, on the Horn of Africa, she was faced with an unimaginable ordeal.

Khatra, still just a child, was led into a room filled with women and instructed to sit down. The next thing she knew, she was being "pinned down" and ordered to remove her underwear.

Now living in Cheshire, the 55-year-old shared her harrowing experience ahead of International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women & Girls. The mum-of-two previously told the ECHO: "I was scared and didn't know what was going on, so I tried to fight, but they restrained me.

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"Then I felt a blinding pain in my privates. I didn't know what they were doing. I screamed for my mum, and one of the women said to me, 'This is what your mother wanted.' I was shouting, 'No, no – my mum didn't want this.' After that, I passed out from the pain."

Khatra was subjected to female genital mutilation. FGM involves the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the organs for non-medical reasons.

According to the World Health Organisation, the practice offers no health benefits. It can lead to several severe complications such as bleeding, problems urinating, cysts, infections, complications in childbirth and increased risk of newborn deaths.

Khatra said: "Less than a week later, I was on a plane home, still in agony and bleeding all over my seat. Another week passed, and my wound became infected, and I needed antibiotics. It was what I can only describe as a brutal violation of my body when parts of my genitalia were taken away with a blade and no anaesthesia. The pain of that day is forever etched in my memory."

“My mum said to me 'This is just what happens to girls'. After that, it was never mentioned again. I later learned my mother had grown up being taught women were unclean if they hadn't been 'cut' and she believed I would not have a future or get married if I wasn't cut too."

Khatra faced health problems and relationship struggles because of the ordeal. She is now, however, married to her husband Brian and mum to Morgan and Harris.

Khatra champions the fight against FGM alongside Savera UK, a Liverpool-based charity, as a survivor ambassador. Tomorrow, on Saturday, November 23, the group will come together for its annual March to End HBA parade. It will begin at 12pm from Williamson Square and end at Derby Square.

Khatra said: “The sad part is that this still continues globally. The NHS predicts there will be over 3,000 newly identified victims of FGM in the UK each year. This is only the tip of the iceberg as there will be much more that will not be recorded due to the secrecy of this practice."

“The people who practice FGM call it 'culture', but it is not culture. It is child abuse. Those who practice cutting need to realise there is life-long damage that is being caused.

"This abhorrent practice is hidden, but it is still happening every day. We need more convictions to send the message that there is no excuse for abuse. Mutilating girls like this with no medical reason amounts to a heinous crime that requires a prison sentence.

“I was taken abroad to be cut. At the time, I thought I was going on holiday. I want to use my experience to empower other survivors. I have not let what happened to me define me. Forty five years later, I am an award-winning nurse, and I've also been a midwife and health visitor. I have transformed my compassion and resilience into a successful business venture."