The Vavengers Headline Feature in the Eastern Eye

Our CEO Sema Gornall and Co-Founder Hoda Ali spoke to Pramod Thomas from the Eastern Eye about potential health complications caused by Gender-Based Violence. Survivors of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting may deal with early onset menopause, as Hoda herself has experienced.

We know that women and girls’ painful symptoms are far too often ignored, and this neglect worsens when treating minoritised women.

Hoda says:

“I wasn’t ready. As a black woman, I wasn’t educated about menopause and what it does to women’s bodies, especially premature menopause.

“When I was diagnosed, I was a young woman. The menopause slowed me down and caused emotional damage. I felt I lost my body, and it stopped me in my tracks. I’m now trying to unpause my life by educating myself about early onset menopause with limited information out there.

“I saw the specialist menopause clinic only once in five years. My appointments were cancelled one after the other, and no one prioritised my healthcare needs.

“As a black woman who is also a survivor of FGM, I feel like I am just a number and I do not matter. What I’m sad about is most women and girls don’t have the platform and the voice I have.”

Read the full article here.

Credit

Eastern Eye article by Pramod Thomas

Featured quotes from Sema Gornall and Hoda Ali

Blog post by Ellie Melvin

Design by Megan Barclay