Society & Culture
From fleeing war in Sierra Leone at the age of 3, to spending her childhood as a refugee in Gambia, to surviving female genital mutilation, to resettling in Adelaide, to experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder to owning single motherhood - Khadija Gbla is one INCREDIBLE woman.Seriously, I am so honoured she agreed to be on my podcast to share her incredible story, wisdom and message.Khadijah is a fearless anti-FGM campaigner, working tirelessly to educate doctors, police and the community about the practice. It's estimated more than 200 million girls and women around the world have been cut and yep, it's happening here in Australia too.She co-founded The Desert Flower Centre, the first of its kind in the Asia Pacific region, specialising in providing medical care and reconstructive surgery for women impacted by FGM.She also runs a cultural consultancy agency, working with huge companies and brands to implement policy on domestic and family violence, child protection, racism, human rights, refugees and cultural diversity.Khadija’s Ted X talk on her experience has had close to 2 million views.She’s also won a bunch of awards for her tireless work and somehow she also finds the time to be a single mum to her 5 year old son.Now this is part two of our chat, so if you haven’t listened to part one I suggest you head to that first as it sets up Khadija’s childhood.In this episode we discuss:The difference forms of FGM in AustraliaFeminismWhat propels her to keep going The impact her work has had preventing other girls from being cutThe Desert Flower Centre Being told she was infertile then falling pregnant with her sonSingle motherhoodJuggling work and being a mumHer powerful message to listeners who’ve experienced adversity Follow Khadija - @khadija_gblaConnect with me @elizabethanileLemonade now has its own Instagram account chock-a-block full of self love inspo - follow here!Your support of Lemonade helps it grow and allows me to spend time finding awesome guests to share with you. Clicking subscribe, hitting 5 stars, leaving a review, sharing it with your friends via social media, it all really helps! I so appreciate anything you have time for. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.