Community Voices in Europe: Magane Mankoundo champions survivor-led awareness on FGM in France

Magane Mankoundo: offering guidance and combating stigma

Magane Mankoundo, a passionate activist based in France, originally from Guinea, who also lived in Togo, draws on her personal experiences and her work with affected communities to drive meaningful change.

“As I say, involve people who have already undergone FGM reconstruction. Really involve them. It can lead other people to say that it's not a danger, even when you undergo FGM reconstruction, you can live your life normally” she explains.

In France, access to FGM reconstruction and support services can be complex, particularly for newcomers or those unfamiliar with the system. Magane works to bridge that gap, creating spaces for women to share their experiences, ask questions, and navigate their options safely.

From student to activist

The commitment of eradicating FGM for Magane Mankoundo, started when she was 15 years old. “There was a form of awareness, but it was informal”.

At that time, she didn’t have the necessary tools to address it effectively, particularly because in Togo and in her Guinean household, the topic of FGM was considered taboo. Now that she is France, Magane is dedicated to carrying on her commitment. She provides reconstruction guidance, and combats stigma in affected communities, but she sees a generational divide. “Among us young people, I think we have the courage to talk about it, maybe because we see other doing so. But the older generation still finds it difficult to addressi the topic.”

This silence is reinforced by stigma, shame, and the lack of safe spaces where survivors can openly share their experiences.

Reconstruction: more than surgery

For many survivors, reconstruction surgery offers a path toward healing, but it also raises fears and uncertainties. Magane highlights a crucial gap in care: the absence of survivor voices in the medical process.

"When we do reconstruction, we go to the gynecologist, the psychologist, the entire medical team before surgery. But we don’t have this person next to us who says, ‘Yes, I did the reconstruction, I can share you the real information with you."

She calls for hospitals to create programs connecting women considering surgery with those who have already undergone it, ensuring not only informed decisions but also long-term follow-up.

Investing in prevention

For Magane, prevention must be at the heart of Europe’s response to FGM.

“Investment on the local level is crucial because it’s there that everything starts. Working directly with communities allows us to understand beliefs, to raise awareness effectively, and to build the necessary confidence for survivors to change their mentality or behavior in the long term.”

A podcast to break the silence

To bridge the gap in medical settings, Magane co-created Écho des Oubliés (“Echo of the Forgotten”), a podcast tackling taboo topics, including FGM reconstruction.

“We found these women who are very enthusiastic about sharing their experiences, because we don't see enough people talking in podcasts about reconstruction and saying, ‘Yes, I had surgery’.

By amplifying survivor testimonies, the podcast aims to inform, reassure, and challenge stigma, reaching women who may otherwise remain isolated.

Looking forward

Through her podcast and activism, Magane shows that prevention is not only about laws or policies; it is about dialogue and the power of survivors to lead the way forward.

“It’s better to prevent than to heal.”

In Europe, the issue of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) has only recently entered the public sphere. It wasn’t until the ratification of the Istanbul Convention in 2014, the Council of Europe’s landmark treaty on preventing and combating violence against women, that FGM was officially recognised as a form of gender-based violence within European borders. But this formal recognition was the result of years of persistent grassroots efforts by survivors, community advocates, and frontline organisations who refused to remain silent.

The Community Voices Project aims to spotlight six of these powerful voices: activists from FGM-affected communities across Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Through their stories, this project wants to spotlight how survivors are influencing policy, reshaping public discourse, and challenging the deeply ingrained social and cultural norms that continue to perpetuate FGM in diaspora communities.

To find out more about the project and the other activists’ journeys, click here!