Leyla Hussein: From Survivor to Global Force – A Life of Defiance and Healing

Leyla Hussein is a prominent British-Somali activist, psychotherapist, and campaigner widely recognized for her advocacy against female genital mutilation (FGM) and her work on gender rights and mental health. Born in Somalia in 1980 to educated professional parents, she came from a privileged family background. She emigrated to the United Kingdom at age 12, where she later earned a postgraduate diploma in therapeutic counseling from Thames Valley University (now the University of West London). Her personal experiences as an FGM survivor undergoing Type II FGM at age seven profoundly shaped her passion for activism and social justice, particularly concerning the protection and empowerment of women and girls. The catalyst for her activism came during a routine postnatal exam when a practice nurse asked if she had undergone FGM, making her realize that the blackouts she experienced during examinations were actually flashbacks to her childhood trauma. This moment not only led to her daughter being protected from the practice but also launched her journey as one of the world’s most visible campaigners against FGM.

Daughters of Eve: Changing the Narrative on FGM

She co-founded Daughters of Eve, an organization dedicated to protecting girls and young women at risk of FGM and raising awareness about the physical and psychological harms of the practice. Through this initiative, Leyla has played a crucial role in changing the narrative around FGM in the UK and globally, pushing for policy reforms and better support systems for survivors. The organization was co-founded with fellow activist Nimco Ali, and together they received a community/charity award at the 2014 Red Magazine Woman of the Year awards for their work. Their collaboration also placed them sixth in the Woman’s Hour Power List 2014. Leyla’s work with Daughters of Eve contributed significantly to the UK’s introduction of stronger legislation and safeguarding measures in schools and healthcare systems, helping to establish FGM as a child protection issue rather than merely a cultural practice.

The Dahlia Project: Pioneering Therapeutic Support

Leyla also founded The Dahlia Project, the UK’s first specialist therapeutic service for FGM survivors, offering psychological support and group therapy. As a trained psychotherapist specializing in supporting survivors of sexual abuse, she recognized the deep trauma caused by FGM and the lack of culturally sensitive mental health support for survivors. The project provides free access to therapeutic support groups and individual counseling in neutral, accessible spaces, with childcare and travel costs covered to remove all barriers to access. Taking a holistic approach, it also offers post-therapy empowerment sessions where women can continue meeting in safe spaces away from daily challenges. The project has developed and published resources to inform best practice and bring about policy change, including Female Genital Trauma: Guidelines for Working Therapeutically with Survivors of Female Genital Mutilation, co-authored by Leyla to assist professionals in supporting survivors. The project has provided a safe space for many women to begin their healing journey and reclaim their voices. Note: Leyla is no longer active at The Dahlia Project following her relocation to Nairobi, Kenya.

Government Advisory and Policy Influence

In addition to her grassroots work, Leyla has advised numerous organizations and governments, including serving on the UK government’s FGM Unit Advisory Board. She has been instrumental in pushing for FGM to be tried as child abuse under English law to secure more convictions, arguing that the current legislative framework places too heavy a burden on victims to testify against family members. Her policy recommendations include mandatory FGM training for all frontline professionals, better multi-agency cooperation between police, health, education and social care professionals, and the introduction of mandatory reporting of FGM cases. She has also consulted with the United Nations and presented the success of her approaches at the ICPD summit in Nairobi.

Media, Documentaries and The Face of Defiance

She has been featured in documentaries and global campaigns, using media as a tool to challenge stigma and amplify the voices of marginalized women. In 2013, she starred in “The Cruel Cut”, a BAFTA-nominated Channel 4 documentary that helped influence changes in British law on FGM. She also created the ground-breaking Face of Defiance project, a series of photographic portraits and interviews with FGM survivors created in collaboration with photographer Jason Ashwood. The project, which has been exhibited in Washington D.C., Dublin, and New York, seeks to empower survivors by portraying them as beautiful, confident, and proud of their achievements despite their suffering. The subjects are therapists, nurses, campaigners, public speakers, authors, and award winners who have dedicated their lives to defying community expectations by campaigning to end FGM. Her media work has appeared on major platforms including CNN, The Guardian, Huffington Post, Global Citizen, Cosmopolitan Magazine, The Times, Financial Times, Washington Post, BBC, ITV, NPR, and LBC.

Broader Advocacy: Consent, Body Autonomy, and Anti-Racism

Leyla’s advocacy extends beyond FGM. She speaks openly about issues such as consent, body autonomy, and systemic racism, using her platform to promote inclusive feminism and mental health awareness, especially within African and Muslim communities. In 2020, she co-founded Safe Spaces for Black Women to provide emotional support and wellbeing resources for Black women globally, recognizing that women are already marginalized and when you are Black or brown, the challenges are “100 times worse.” She is also a vocal critic of tokenism and the exploitation of trauma narratives, urging for authentic representation and lasting change. Her advocacy emphasizes the importance of language in framing these issues insisting that FGM be called what it is: violence, child abuse, and sexual assault, rather than softened as merely a “cultural practice.”

Academic Leadership: University of St Andrews

In 2020, Leyla made history as the first Black woman elected Rector of the University of St Andrews, serving a three-year term. During her tenure, she started the “Make It Make Sense” podcast with her Rector’s Assessor Stella Maris to document their experiences and provoke uncomfortable but important conversations about salient issues in higher education, including diversity, inclusion, and affordable accommodation. Her manifesto for the role focused on three pillars: Access (widening participation for students of color and those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds), Action (transparency between the university and students, supporting student social movements), and Accountability (tackling sexual and gender-based violence with accessible support mechanisms). Her election marked a significant milestone as one of the first three women of color to actively hold senior educational roles in Scotland.

Current Roles and Global Impact

Currently, Leyla serves as Global Advocacy Director for The Girl Generation, a program supporting the Africa-led Movement to End FGM/C, working in ten African countries with the aim of ending FGM in one generation. She was previously Strategic Advisor and Global Ambassador for the movement, where she focused on the importance of emotional wellbeing for activists working with survivors. In 2018, she founded Magool, a technology startup that leverages her expertise as an activist and psychotherapist to develop emotional wellbeing tools while promoting the rights and wellbeing of women and girls. She also serves on the Advisory Board of The Vavengers, a UK-based charity committed to ending FGM/C and all forms of Violence Against Women and Girls.

Honours and Recognition

Over the years, Leyla Hussein has received multiple awards, including:

• Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2019 Birthday Honours for her service to tackling gender-based violence and gender inequality
• Cosmopolitan Campaigner of the Year 2010
• BBC 100 Women List 2013
• Woman’s Hour Power List 2014
• Debretts 500 as one of the UK’s most influential people
• Freedom Borough Award from Walthamstow Borough Council (April 2018)
• Emma Humphrey Award 2011
• True Honour Award 2012 by the Iranian and Kurdish Women’s Rights Organisation
• Ambassador for Peace Prize by the Inter-religious and International Peace Federation

Her work continues to inspire a new generation of activists committed to equality, justice, and healing. Despite suffering from fibromyalgia, she speaks openly about the importance of self-care for activists and maintains an unwavering commitment to ending violence against women and girls globally.