The Cut: Exploring FGM

Fatma Naib’s personal journey to explore the traditions and controversies inherent to female genital mutilation (FGM) is a nuanced, culturally aware film. Naib, who grew up in Sweden and whose family is from Eritrea, travels to Africa to understand why FGM is still practiced legally in some countries despite causing long-term serious pain and health issues for girls and women who have been cut. In Kenya, a group of Maasai men are shown the realities of FGM through video and react in horror to images of a 2-year-old girl undergoing a circumcision. Naib’s own warm presence and personal reflections give the film a memoirish quality that helps to break stereotypes. Clinical rather than gruesome, the film focuses on the impact the practice has on women and children in a manner sensitive to cultural and community identity. Since its debut, “The Cut: Exploring FGM” has been screened for various groups, such as teachers, social workers, health workers, the police, and others to help people understand the challenges faced by those affected by FGM, to build awareness of the sensitivities around the practice, and to prevent it from continuing. For giving us a groundbreaking education on the most difficult of issues, “The Cut: Exploring FGM” wins a Peabody Award.