A Dulwich teenager is in the running for the prestigious Amnesty Youth Award in reporting for her article on female genital mutilation.
Marthe Naudts, sixteen, is a pupil at Alleyn’s School and wrote the article ‘Cut the Clit or Cut the Custom – The Sad Truth About the FGM Taboo’ to raise awareness of the issue.
The budding journalist will join other seven to nineteen year olds at Amnesty International UK’s headquarters on May 6 for the chance to win a goodie bag and a media award. Marthe said: “When I found out that I’d been shortlisted I sat in disbelief. Female genital mutilation is the worst form of child abuse yet it’s rarely discussed or even known about.
“I know writing about it won’t have any direct impact on its victims, but I hope to increase awareness and understanding amongst any readers of the real devastating impact it has.”
Marthe’s mum, Ayana Gibbs, praised her commitment to human rights saying Marthe first became interested at the age of thirteen after a talk about discrimination with her school friends.
She said: “One quality I admire in Marthe is her ability to empathise with the experiences of others. It’s one of the many qualities that I know will make her a formidable champion of fundamental rights for all in years to come.”
The annual competition will be judged by Channel 4’s Krishnan Guru-Murthy, BBC Radio 4’s Ritula Shah and staff at the Observer paper. The competition’s four categories are Upper Primary, Lower Secondary, Upper Secondary and Sixth Form and is split into: Reporting, Performing, Photography, Campaigning, Fundraising, and Poetry.