A female genital mutilation survivor who nearly died from an infection after being cut with a dirty razor says she's taken her "power back" after life-changing surgery."

Amani Abdallah, 24, was left in agony after the FGM procedure was performed - which involved narrowing the vaginal opening.

She grew up in Sudan - where FGM is common practice - and was left struggling to urinate and in pain when she tried to be intimate with her partner.

The mum-of-one even had to have a c-section to give birth because she couldn't face the trauma of giving birth naturally.

But having her daughter, Maya, one, motivated her to have a surgery called deinfibulation - to open the vagina - and she can now urinate normally and have sex without being in pain.

Amani, a student nurse, now living in Sheffield, Yorkshire, said: "It helped me face it."

"I convinced myself it wasn't my fault. It was out of my control."

"I have taken my power back."

"They did that to me and I reopened myself."

Amani remembers being around six or seven when she was taken for her surgery.

She recalls being given sweets and getting loads of attention leading up to procedure.

She was then taken by a group of women to some bushes in a field.

Amani said: "I remember being told to lie down and they were sat on my head."

"I remember them holding me. They were forceful putting pressure on my arms."

"I don't remember anything after that at all."

"I remember waking up and my legs were tied with different ropes."

"I was crying and screaming and I couldn't wee."

As she grew up Amani questioned what had happened to her and was later told by her family that they had been "preparing for her death" when she got an infection following the procedure."

She said: "Luckily I survived the infection I had. "

"Why would you risk a child's life?"

"They think 'lets cut her genitalia so she can be worthy of marriage'. "

"What kind of human does that?"

Amani had type 3 FGM - which involves narrowing the vaginal opening by cutting and repositioning the labia majora.

From a young age Amani remembers struggling with her period and she would have a lot of clots.

She said: "It causes me a lot of pain and pressure in the vaginal area."

"When I would urinate it would just be trickles of urine that could come out. It was painful."

Amani moved to the UK when she was 10 years old and found out about FGM after studying female anatomy in biology class in year seven.

She said: "I remember looking at the textbook at how the vagina looked and I was really confused."

"I raised my hand and asked 'are all vaginas like that?'"

"They just said 'yes'."

Amani took her textbook home and started doing research online where she discovered FGM.

She said: "I watched awareness videos."

"I was really angry. It brought back a lot of memories."

"It made me feel less of a woman. "

"It feels like you don't fit in. I felt very isolated."

"There was a sense of shame."

Amani later met her partner, Ali, 27, a business owner, in 2020 but the pair struggled with painful sex.

She said: "Intercourse was really painful and uncomfortable."

"It felt like rape every time I had sex. I was angry at my own body."

"I was angry at myself that it would not let me do the simplest of tasks."

Amani had started looking into surgery options when she unexpectedly fell pregnant with her daughter.

She said: "I didn't let them do physical examinations on me."

"I didn't let the midwives touch me as my FGM was done by a woman."

"They were very cautious with me."

When it came to the birth Amani was given two options - give birth vaginally and cut the vaginal opening wider when she was at the birth canal or have a planned c-section.

Amani opted to have a c-section on July 4, 2023, so she could "enjoy the experience of having a baby"."

She said: "When I had her I was really emotional."

"I didn't want to be reminded of my childhood anymore."

"Having my daughter motivated me."

Amani underwent deinfibulation in November 2023 and had local anaesthetic so she could stay awake throughout.

She said: "It was really scary."

"It was re-traumatising."

But the operation has been life-changing for Amani.

She said: "I can pee so fast."

"Before I had to sit there for hours for little trickles to come out."

"Intercourse is possible - it's so natural now."

"My relationship is healthier now."

"Now I feel free."

Amani now shares her story on TikTok to help others and hopes to start a non-profit organisation in the future.

She said: "I'm not strange."

"There is nothing wrong with me."

"I can be that comfort for someone else."

Amani hopes to create a supportive environment for others and go to communities and lay out the laws of FGM.

She said: "I get comments such as 'it's culture'."

"If you butcher a child that can't be tradition. Cutting a child's genitals is not culture. "

"I don't feel like a victim anymore. I always use the word survivor."