Escaping the Somalian desert

Although Dirie’s story is full of drama – fleeing an arranged marriage at the age of 13 and eventually finding herself in London – it is the revelation that she was circumcised as a very young girl that gives the film its emotional centre.

While based on her autobiography, the movie has taken a degree of artistic license, becoming a strange blend of drama and comedy, with star turns from Sally Hawkins, Timothy Spall and Juliet Stevenson.

But the central message is harrowing. It is difficult to absorb that female circumcision is a practice that continues in great numbers in Africa, and around the rest of the world.

To be continued

Source: BBC