Disrupting the Room- A Conversation With Leyla Hussein

Every 11 seconds, somewhere in the world, a girl undergoes Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Some might think this issue applies only to Sub Saharan countries, distant and far away from the concerns of the “developed” world - but Dr Leyla Hussein OBE is here to show us otherwise. Tens of thousands of young girls in the UK have undergone the inhumane procedure themselves, with many others still at risk. This is an issue that requires proactive and direct action, and Dr. Hussein has connected it to a greater conversation about the sexual violence epidemic she has observed and experienced throughout her life.

As an activist and psychotherapist, Dr. Hussein has worked to create and support foundations seeking to end violence against women and girls around the world - most notably by co-founding the Dahlia Project and the Daughters of Eve initiatives. Both of these have ensured communities receive educational resources and mental health help (therapy, support groups) to prevent the continuation of FGM. These organizations have allowed survivors to have a space to discuss their wellbeing, amplify their voices, and push consistently for governmental action on a wider scale. Dr. Hussein has tirelessly worked to the extent at which the National Curriculum includes a more comprehensive approach to sexual health by addressing FGM and abuse within the classroom. For her efforts she has received commendation from multiple organizations, being named one of the most influential women in the UK by the BBC in 2014 after creating her 2013 documentary The Cruel Cut and being appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2019.

In her presence, it is obvious that she is a force to be reckoned with, strongly opinionated but deeply approachable at the same time. Her need for enacting change and creating movement is evident in the way that she speaks about her work and her reputation, making her simultaneously intimidating and empowering to be around.

She has been nominated as a candidate to take on the role of Rector at St. Andrews by a group of students. When asked about the possibility of enacting change in the context of the University, she seems undaunted and deeply motivated. Like everywhere else, she stresses that she wishes to fight to achieve change, but also that she “will fight kindly, with lots of love and respect,” placing mental health at the forefront of her initiative. “Safe spaces are important to me,” she adds, where she stresses the importance of dialogue in problem solving processes. Dr. Hussein shows up to be an active force and catalyst for change – both inside and outside of her work as an activist – with her background in psychotherapy, consultancy, and counselling constantly allowing for progress to enact this change as a community.

She provides a fascinating perspective on the language we use to discuss violence, as the words we use can create vicious feedback cycles within our preconceived notions around gender. This is a problem at most universities around the UK, and an issue that Dr. Hussein has extensive experience dealing with. “I’ve always been an advocate for survivors of violence my whole life, and the person I spoke for most of the time, was actually me,” she describes passionately, “This isn’t even a challenge, this is something I absolutely look forward to putting at the forefront.”

When the question of fixing the issue in a university setting came up, she did not hesitate to criticize the passive constructions inherent in how we discuss the violence directed towards women. “The other day I was having this conversation around gender-based violence, sexual violence, and I was saying how even now when we collect stats, what stats do we collect? We collect how many women got raped, but never how many men raped women.” She continued,  “Because even when women are violated, that’s on them to count themselves, so that it’s not just the rape culture that needs to change, but also how we talk about the issue.” She then proceeded to add that she wishes to “lift the shame around this conversation, creating a dialogue and education around these behaviors,” speaking from a deeply personal space – not just as an activist but a survivor herself. “I’m glad I live in a world with ‘me too’,” she concludes, aiming to amplify the voices of those in St Andrews who have undergone trauma and take a proactive strategy to prevent it from happening in the future. Dr. Hussein is a radical under the description that Angela Davis provided of a radical – where fixing the problem means “grabbing things by the root” – change that now more than ever, is a necessity.

 It is thus no surprise that when you visit the Dahlia Project page, one can see that she describes herself as a “disruptor.” It was very different to anything I’d ever seen as a self-descriptor of a public figure, so when I asked her why she specifically chose this word, she smiled and proceeded to tell me, “A disruptor is someone who walks in the room, sets the agenda, influences, and demands change – to me that’s what disruptor is, not someone who destroys the room.” By challenging harmful concepts propped up by powerful establishments, Dr. Hussein lets people know that her definition of “troublemaker” is synonymous with “peacemaker.” Maybe being a disruptor and fundamentally challenging the status quo is the best possible thing to do, something that the year of 2020 has shown us through shifts in the global landscape. She confidently adds, “How are we going to do this together? That’s going to be my question – that’s how you disrupt a space.”

*This article is an informational/opinion piece rather than a formal endorsement on behalf of the FAR of Leyla Hussein as a candidate for Rector of St. Andrews

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