"We Use Ourselves as Case Studies": Meet the FGM Survivor Fighting to Eradicate the Practice
Peckham local Sarian Kamara was a victim of Female Gential Mutilation (FGM) at just 11 years old. Now, through the advocacy of her organisation Keep the Drums, Lose the Knife, she dedicates herself to saving her daughter’s generation from the same life-threatening procedure.
Keep The Drums Founder, Sarian Kamara
At the heart of Peckham’s Rye Lane, sandwiched between an Afro-Caribbean food store and an estate agent, there is a shop called ‘Bit by Bit’ where you can find anything from wind chimes and kitchen utensils to fur hats, novelty socks, and a vast range of Caribbean and West African food staples. It’s a colourful, inviting space, where all the shelves are piled high with things you immediately want to slow down to browse through.
“WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WOMEN WHO HAVE ALREADY BEEN THROUGH FGM GET THE RIGHT HELP AND SUPPORT – AND ALSO PROTECT CHILDREN WHO ARE BORN TO WOMEN LIKE OURSELVES,” SARIAN SAYS, NOTING THAT WITHOUT THE RIGHT INTERVENTION, MANY FGM SURVIVORS GO ON TO PUT THEIR DAUGHTERS THROUGH THE SAME PRACTICE.”
But today, we’re not here to browse. We’ve stopped by to catch up with the shop’s owner, Sarian Kamara, who is also the founder of the CIC Keep the Drums, Lose the Knife: a Peckham-based organisation on a mission to end the traumatic and highly dangerous practice of FGM, both in the UK and in West Africa, where it originates.
Despite the harrowing experience of surviving FGM herself as a young girl, Sarian is the kind of person who smiles often and laughs easily. She has an infectious energy and warmth that permeates everything she says, yet the serious conviction in her mission is also unmistakable; in the back of her shop, she tells us about how she first formed KDLK after recognising the pressing need to raise awareness in the diaspora communities of southeast London.
“The practice of FGM is very common across London communities, especially here in Peckham,” she explains. “If you pass five people, three of them will be from Sierra Leone. Then we also have different groups, those from other parts of the world where FGM is practiced. So unfortunately it is very, very common in our community here.”
KDLK’s approach to bringing an end to the practice is multi-faceted, focusing on education, support, and partnership. “We want to make sure that women who have already been through FGM get the right help and support – and also protect children who are born to women like ourselves,” she says, noting that without the right intervention, many FGM survivors go on to put their daughters through the same practice: “This is why we do our best to educate our communities on the laws around FGM in the UK – especially because most women don't know, they just see it as a practice that they need to pass on to the next generation.”
Turning the tide of such deeply ingrained cultural beliefs and tradition requires time, dedication and carefully coordinated efforts. As such, Sarian and her team conduct local workshops and community events to raise awareness about the legal and health implications of FGM, while also collaborating with organisations that can offer additional resources and maximise their reach. “We don’t just work in isolation,” she says. “As you know, funding is very hard to come by. There are organisations that want to work with communities like ours, but don’t have the contacts. So we partner with these organisations that have the funds, and we facilitate the contact and the workshops.”
These partnerships not only amplify their message but also provide a network of support for those affected by FGM – including refugees and asylum seekers, who make up a significant portion of the women KDLK supports. “These women have no recourse to public funds.” Sarian says, highlighting the acutely vulnerable position of those who are often brought into the country under the government’s radar, then subjected to different forms of domestic abuse. “Some of them are fleeing for their lives, either because of FGM or maybe somebody traffiked them here. Some of them have been exploited, you know – brought here by family members and kept in the houses, exposed to all sorts of slavery.”
KDLK offers these women vital support through their own group sessions and workshops, but it’s through their network of partnerships that they’re also often able to guide them towards other, more comprehensive services, provisions and support.
And this isn’t the only way KDLK extends its impact beyond its own borders; the organisation’s impact reaches beyond London to Sierra Leone, bridging the gap between diaspora communities and their countries of origin. “What we’re trying to do is make the connection between what’s happening here and what’s happening back home,” Sarian explains. “We do inter-community exchange – like a few years ago, we had a group of cutters [in Sierra Leone] that abandoned their practice: they burned their baskets in front of their communities, and they stopped the cutting. We set them up with small businesses, so twelve of these women are now actively involved in our campaign.”
Such public renunciations are both a symbol of hope and an energising boost for a mission that, at its roots, is deeply personal. “Once you've been through FGM, it's like you're serving a life sentence. It stays with you forever.” Sarian says. “I was cut at age 11 – I'm 46 years old now. I'm going through my own stress every other day as a result of what happened to me many, many years ago. That’s why we use ourselves as examples; we use ourselves as case studies, so that communities can understand what it really means to cut these girls – and see reasons to stop.”
Keep the Drums, Lose The Knife is a Community Interest Company dedicated to ending the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) amongst the Sierra Leonean community in London, the UK and abroad. Led by FGM survivor, Peckham resident and tireless activist Sarian Kamara, KDLK coordinates efforts to educate impacted communities, provide support and raise awareness through workshops, community events, grassroots-level activism and lobbying, and partnerships with other organisations.
Instagram: @keepthedrumslosetheknife