Real Housewives of Dubai star Chanel Ayan breaks down over harrowing FGM ordeal

The Real Housewives of Dubai star Chanel Ayan broke down in tears as she opened up about undergoing forced female genital mutilation when she was a child.

In the latest episode of the Bravo series, the Housewife shed light on her heartbreaking past during an emotional hypnotherapy session with her co-stars.

Speaking to Sara Al-Madani and a therapist, she detailed the moment that she was joined by her older sister as their family members took them to get the procedure done.

‘At 5-years-old, my aunt and my grandma came to pick us up to take us to another town,’ she shared. ‘And then the next morning at 6am, I didn’t know where I was going whatsoever and then they took us to this man’s house and they just tied us on the bed and we were circumcised.’

‘I don’t have a lot of memories because I feel like I block things.’

‘We were tied in the legs,’ the mom-of-one continued. ‘Couldn’t pee. Couldn’t move. 

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‘When we needed to pee, they would carry us and put us on the grass. I just didn’t understand what the hell was going on whatsoever and my mom didn’t know that that was happening to us.’

FGM is defined by the NHS as a procedure where the female genitals are deliberately cut, injured or changed.

It is also sometimes referred to as ‘female circumcision’ or ‘cutting’.

FGM has no health benefits, and it can cause long-term problems with sex, childbirth and mental health.

Chanel later sought medical treatment so that she could be intimate with her husband, Christopher, as the procedure left her unable to do so.

Discussing her past in a confessional, the model explained that she wanted to bring awareness to FGM, as this is often not discussed.

‘The reason that I’m talking about it is to bring awareness to it and I want people to understand this happens every single day, and if that’s my mission, maybe that’s what I should be doing,’ she told the camera.

Opening up about her experience, she added that she feels ‘lighter’ from being so open with those around her.

‘It’s like the mountain is off my shoulder,’ she said. ‘I’m starting to heal. I’m starting to understand that I trusted people that hurt me, and they don’t have power over me anymore.

‘I’ve chosen, for the first time in my life, to forgive them and accept what happened to me.

‘I still have a lot of life and I still have a lot of love to give to myself.’

Chanel also discussed her ordeal in a candid chat with E! News after the episode aired on Wednesday, and shared her hope that being vocal about FGM could save other young girls,

‘I’m a survivor,’ the Housewife said. ‘I felt that I was utterly betrayed by my culture and my family. This is just a barbaric practice and it shouldn’t be happening to young girls. It happened to me 35 years ago and I’ve never gotten over it.’

‘In my culture, it’s done to keep women virgins,’ she told the publication. ‘It’s a way to keep men satisfied.

‘This is practiced in over 28 African countries, the Middle East, Syria, Yemen. Even in America, I have cousins and family that still find ways to do it to the young girls behind the scenes, because you don’t need a doctor. You just need someone who knows how to do it.’

‘We don’t share things like this, it’s kind of kept quiet in our families,’ Chanel added. ‘I just feel like after opening [up about] it, I was taking my power away from the people that did this to me that I trusted the most because I was five years old and I did not know what was happening to me. 

‘I didn’t even know what was going on. I just want to bring awareness to it as much as possible because it’s still happening 35 years later. Every 11 minutes it’s happening to some little girl that is as confused as me.’

The Real Housewives of Dubai continues on Wednesdays at 9pm EST on Bravo, and is available to stream on hayu in the UK.

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