A Bermudian student originally from West Africa prompted the Island’s Amnesty International branch to host a talk on female genital mutilation (FGM) this year.

Myst|0xe8|re Gibbons, 19, who was born in Cameroon where the practice is still legal, wrote about the topic for a term paper at her school, the Bermuda Institute, last year.

Her studies led to the discovery that her birth mother’s tribe - the Bamileke - carry out the procedure on young girls. After getting an A for her project, she decided to speak to the Minister of Health about the topic.

Patrice Minors suggested she talk to the Human Rights Commission, which in turn advised her to go to Amnesty International Bermuda.

Myst|0xe8|re spoke to section director Lucy Attride-Stirling who told her the organisation was focusing on women this year. “She told me that actually my idea was perfect,” said Myst|0xe8|re.

The Warwick teenager, who was adopted by Bermudians Katherina and Sydney Gibbons when she was 12 and was one of this year’s Bermuda Scholars along with sister Meliseanna, travelled back to the Island from university in the US to hear the talk by Salimata Badji Knight on October 19.

“I was touched by it and I thought that it was very effective and I was very grateful that she came here and educated Bermuda about it,” said Myst|0xe8|re. “FGM is unheard of in Bermuda. She opened up a new window to something that Bermuda never knew. In return, now that we know, perhaps we can do something to stop this procedure.”

Myst|0xe8|re is studying to be a doctor at Atlanta Union College and hopes to eventually return to Cameroon to help people there.

Lucy Attride-Stirling applauded the youngster for raising such an important subject. “When she talked to me, I said: ‘yes, this was something we can look at’. Amnesty International adopted FGM as a human rights issue in 1997.”

Lucy said Amnesty always sought to get a speaker each year who had survived a human rights abuse. Of this year’s topic, she said: “Nothing is going to happen to anybody here but the fact that people know that it happens in other parts of the world just gives them an empowerment to feel empathy for these people.”

* To find out more about Amnesty International Bermuda email aibda[AT]logic.bm.