Friends united: pair who struck up an unlikely friendship in fight against FGM
British midwife and Kenyan teacher have 40 years between them but have formed a strong bond out of shared passion
I don’t like being the face of FGM, says Australian survivor, but I must break the silence
Khadija Gbla is trying not to think about the fact she and her son, due in February, could die during labour due to medical ignorance about complications from female genital mutilation
2014: not such a bad year after all
The international news agenda tends to focus on things that go wrong. Here we present a selection of the year’s good news stories, as a counterbalance to the ravages of war, violence, disease, natural disasters, corruption et al
Homebirth or hospital birth? Choose what’s right for you, but educate yourself first
Jessica Valenti: We don’t have to declare doctors monstrous in order to promote midwives. Both choices can and should be made as safe and acceptable as possible
The day I got my first period
From confusing advice – ‘Don’t talk to lads now’ – to bumbling attempts to help, our readers share warm, moving, and funny stories about menstruation
Muna Hassan: ‘One of us mentioned vaginas and Michael Gove went really red!’
The young anti-FGM campaigner who told David Cameron to ‘grow a pair’ has helped to get the issue on the political agenda this year, writes Corinne Jones
FGM: ‘My daughter will never be cut. It stops with me’
In America, Jaha Dukureh has advised Barack Obama on the fight against female genital mutilation. But can she convince her own father at home in the Gambia? Alexandra Topping reports
The £400 Christmas present that you might want to think about buying yourself
Nicola Davis looks at the HPV vaccine and considers if women over 18 should be thinking about getting themselves a jab - if they can afford it that is
FGM: UK plan to require professionals to report suspected cases
Charities welcome government move but say heavy-handed mandatory reporting could drive practice further underground
We can’t be complacent about pregnant women’s rights in Britain
Rebecca Schiller: A local authority has failed to make drinking in pregnancy a crime, but we should be wary about further attempted incursions