Mariya Taher was seven when strangers forced her to the ground and cut her clitoral hood.

She doesn’t remember much, only laughter and friendly chatter before a sharp pain.

‘What I do remember is my mom taking me to a building in a part of India and going up some stairs,’ she told Metro US. ‘The frilly dress I wore was pulled up to reveal my midriff and my underwear pulled down, revealing parts I had been taught were to remain private. I couldn’t see what it was, but something sharp cut me and I began crying out in pain.’

Mariya’s mother embraced her, handed her a soda and wiped away her tears.

FGM survivor speaks of night she was forcefully cut as she fights for end to brutal procedure – Metro UK