It's been such a crazy, whirlwind few weeks and I am still pinching myself. The support we have received is so heartening; it makes it all feel so worthwhile. There were times over the last few years that we thought we'd never get our message out there - yes, each project had a lot of attention, but if we are to eradicate FGM, we need to be talking to the parents of the next generation, and that's the message we wanted so desperately to get across to Michael Gove on Monday. The answer to ending FGM - and all forms of violence against women and girls - is education.
Ban Ki-moon understood, and having his support was such a boost. And Malala Yousafzai understood. She knows the power of education, and when we heard that she was backing Integrate Bristol's campaign, we were thrilled, honoured and very proud. Integrate Bristol really is our charity – I mean, the young people's charity. Everybody is talking about me now, but there are 150 of us and each one has played a part in what has happened these last few weeks - we didn't just pop out of nowhere! We have made an award winning film, been on Newsnight, organised and hosted a conference at Bristol University inviting 300 delegates and last summer, we wrote and performed a play called My Normal Life. And there's still much more too. The group started with four terrified girls writing poetry, and the journey that took us to Michael Gove has been extraordinary and hugely empowering.
I am proud to be the face of this campaign, but all my friends involved with our charity have worked incredibly hard too, for what seems like a lifetime. Some of them for seven years – which, when you're 17-years-old, really does seem like a lifetime!
When I met Michael Gove on Monday, I wasn't at all nervous. We had already met quite a few politicians and ministers – they are just normal people with powerful jobs. Jane Ellison has been amazingly supportive, as has Lynne Featherstone, and both have worked hard to produce positive change. The introduction of the ICD code (International Code of Disease) felt like a huge, huge step forward, so we were hopeful that Gove would listen too - he is, after all, the Minister of Education.
The meeting was interesting - we had to work really hard to get our point across. It felt like such a victory when he finally agreed to sending out a letter to all head teachers. We were all so relieved and so happy. He agreed to contact every single head teacher in the UK, primary schools and secondary schools and get FGM training in schools. However he said he needed guidance and he wanted our opinions on how pupils should be taught about FGM in schools... which is why he's due to visit our school today!
He will see how easily young people can talk about difficult issues, how they have opinions and how they are able to challenge the patriarchal attitudes that allow abuses like FGM to continue. And he will see that teachers know how to deliver age appropriate education. I really hope he understands how vital it is that schools all over the country tackle these issues.
We believe that teachers and head teachers all want to do what is right for their students - they just needed a bit of a prod, and some confidence. And since the announcement that Gove has agreed to the letter, we have received many emails from schools asking us to give peer education sessions or to speak in assemblies. Schools are already listening.
So where do we go from here? Well, the older ones in our group are already delivering peer education sessions in other schools – we want to do even more of that. We're working with a primary school in Bristol to make a media resource for Year 6 children which is sensitive and age appropriate. We want to develop more educational resources, especially now schools are listening and ready to act and talk about FGM.
As our song Buckle Up says, “If a girl needs help, who's gonna to have the conversation?”. FGM, like all forms of abuse, is everybody's business, regardless of race, gender or religion.