Female genital mutilation to be featured on Casualty as BBC becomes first mainstream broadcaster to tackle taboo subject in a drama

Female genital mutilation will be featured on BBC One's Casualty this weekend - the first time a mainstream broadcaster has tackled the subject in a drama series.


The programme to be aired on Saturday night is the second part of a storyline that follows a young girl called Tamasha who injures herself deliberately to avoid being sent abroad for the procedure.

Not only is the practice of female genital mutilation illegal in the UK, but it is also illegal to assist in the procedure being done overseas.

According to Government statistics there are more than 20,000 girls at risk under the age of 15 and another 66,000 women in the UK are living with the consequences.

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A character called Tamasha (pictured left) is the victim of female genital mutilation in an episode of Casualty

One of the main reasons behind female genital mutilation is the belief that it is beneficial for the girl or woman and it is most prevalent in 28 African countries and parts of the Middle East and Asia.

In teenager Tamasha's case, as with many other girls that undergo the procedure, she is due to be sent abroad.

Aware of what is about to happen to her, she tries to injure herself then confides in a nurse who suggests she fakes having a severe headache in order to miss the flight.

At the end of the last episode of Casualty viewers learned that Tamasha went missing from hospital.

In the next part of the storyline she tries to stop an unqualified doctor from operating on her sister and three other young girls.

She helps drive his car off the road, leaving him facing impotence, but what happens to the girls is even worse. They are operated on by family members and one is left on the verge of death.

The programme did cause some concern, with a commenter on Mumsnet posting: 'Would you explain this to a 10 year old?

'We were watching the episode and she asked "what just happened" but I didn't want to explain at that moment just before going to bed. Not sure whether to tell her tomorrow or let it lie until she asks again when she's older.'





Tamasha hurt herself to go to hospital in order to miss a flight for a 'holiday' in which she would have undergone the procedure

But another added: 'There are ways of talking to a young child about FGM without going into graphic detail and questions like that should be answered as otherwise the child is going to think that it can't be talked about - which is far from the truth.

'And the sad truth is that the reason FGM's still practiced in Britain and that British girls are still being taken abroad to be cut (both illegal under British law) is that not enough people know about the practice, and quite often those who do and are in a position to prevent it happening or intervene in some way are too worried about accusations of racism or cultural insensitivity - or just too embarrassed to talk about a girl's genitals.'

Lisa Zimmermann, project manager of Integrate Bristol said: 'We are delighted with the finished work, it is handled sensitively without avoiding any of the issues or demonising a particular community group.

'We are hugely grateful to "Casualty" for having the courage to take on this issue which many people don't want to talk about for fear of offending relatives and communities.'



A BBC spokesman said: 'Casualty has a long history of tackling issues, which reflect modern day life and with the growing awareness of FGM this is an issue that has very much been brought to the forefront.

'We consulted a number of organisations when developing the storyline and characters, and have taken advice from the BBC’s editorial policy advisers to ensure the material is appropriate for the time slot.'