David Cameron spent hours practicing saying the word vagina in front of the mirror so he would not blush during a speech on female genital mutilation (FGM), an activist has reportedly claimed.
Women’s rights campaigner Nimco Ali said she met with the ex Prime Minister ahead of an international summit he held in 2014 to discuss how the world could tackle the mutilation.
But she said the then Tory leader kept turning red whenever he had to say the word ‘vagina’ or ‘clitoris’ or other intimate parts of the body.
She said they decided to spend hours in front of a mirror rehearsing the words in a bid to get rid of his blushes before he took to the stage at the ‘Girl Summit’
David Cameron practiced the word ‘vagina’ in front of a mirror for hours on end to stop himself form blushing ahead of a major speech while he was Prime Minister on tackling female genital mutilation, it has been claimed (file pic)
Ms Ali, who was forced to undergo FGM as seven year-old while in Africa and campaigns against the barbaric practice, made the startling claim at a charity event on Wednesday night.
In comments quoted by the website Shevolution, she said many people are too embarrassed to even say the word vagina and called for these taboos to be abandoned.
She said: ‘I think one of the bravest things I’ve done was at the Girl Summit in 2014. I was talking about Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and early forced marriage.
‘So our former Prime Minister, David Cameron, had to say the word ‘clitoris’.
‘Because we keep talking about other parts of the body, and he kept on going red.
‘And I’m like, “I’m sorry, I can’t help you going red in front of all this men from different countries that probably believe that the female anatomy shouldn’t be talked about”.’
She said the pair decided that his blushes would be spare with a bit of practice.
She said: ‘So [David Cameron and I] spent several hours talking into a mirror saying the word ‘clitoris’ and the word ‘vagina’.
‘He had the power over a lot of other women and a lot of other men to talk about these things.
‘So I’m happy to say I’ve talked about my vagina, and because of the fact I’ve talked about my vagina I know that my generation and countless girls to come are going to be saved from something which was quite horrific, which was FGM.’
Women’s rights campaign Nimco Ali made the claims about the former Prime Minister at a chairty event earlier this week
The Tory leader went on to deliver his speech to ministers, charities and campaigners form around the world at the major summit held in London.
He praised the bravery of those ‘who have experience of FGM or early and forced marriage who’ve spoken out’.
He added: ‘Here, it is absolutely clear about what we are trying to achieve, it is such a simple but noble and good ambition, and that is to outlaw the practices of female genital mutilation (FGM) and childhood and early forced marriage, to outlaw them everywhere, for everyone within this generation. That is the aim. That is the ambition.’
While in the Home Office in Mr Cameron’s government Theresa May introduced new laws to make it mandatory for health and social care workers to report cases of FGM.
This mutilation practice has been illegal in the UK since 1985, but not a single person has been convicted or sentenced for the barbaric practice.