What We’re Told Not to Talk About (But We’re Going to Anyway): Women’s Voices from East London to Ethiopia - Hardcover

Ali, Nimko

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 024129262X ISBN 13: 9780241292624

Publisher: Viking, 2019

Synopsis

'Hilarious and heart-breaking at the same time, Nimko has blown apart all taboos, blown apart the echo chamber and included all women in the feminist conversation. Essential reading for everyone' - Scarlett Curtis, author of Feminists Don't Wear Pink

14 countries, 42 women, each with a story no one has heard before.

What do you do when you're living on the streets and on your period? What does it feel like to have a poo after you've given birth? How do we learn to love our bodies again after they've been abused? And, how do you know if you've ever really orgasmed? We all have questions about our bodies but often women's voices are silenced for being impolite or improper

What We're Told Not To Talk About (But We're Going To Anyway) is an important, taboo-breaking book that gives voice to the experiences of women from all walks of life, whose stories might not ordinarily be heard. Alongside Nimko's story of living with FGM, rebuilding her relationship with her own body and being a woman her own way, these are the true stories of real women who are sharing the experiences they've always been told should be secret and shameful.

The book is a call to arms for all women to reclaim the narrative around their bodies and to refuse to bow to the taboos which keep us silent. There is no such thing as oversharing.
'A beautiful book with such a wide range of uplifting but often heart-breaking stories. Made us cry and think in equal measure' - Pandora Sykes, co-host of The High Low

'Nimko's book is going to shift the conversation around women's bodies. Our bodies, and everything they do, make us who we are' - Amika George, founder of Free Periods Campaign.

'Nimko says it how it is. There is no subject too taboo for her to tackle. We should all be talking about our vaginas and she is leading the way' - Bryony Gordon, author of Mad Girl

'Nimko Ali is my hero! She's an anti-FGM activist and is responsible for changing laws across the globe! She is also hilarious and wonderful' - Zoe Sugg

'Nimko Ali is heroine for our time, she destroys the notion of things being too rude to discuss' - Caitlin Moran, author of How to Be a Woman

About this title

About the Author

NIMKO ALI OBE is a feminist, anti-FGM campaigner and professional over-sharer. She is co-founder of The Five Foundation, the global coalition to end FGM. She has been instrumental in changing legislation around the practice of FGM in the UK and abroad, including getting it included in the Children's Act in 2019. She has spoken at events including the Women of the World festival and The Girl Summit. At the 2019 Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy Nimko was awarded the UN Women's Rights Award. What We're Told Not to Talk About is her first book.

From the Back Cover

This book is about vaginas. Fanny, cunt, flower, foo-foo, tuppence, whatever you want to call it, almost half of the world's population has one. Was Jessica Ennis on her period they day she won Olympic Gold? What do you do when you're living on the streets and pregnant? What does it feel like to have a poo after you've given birth? We all have questions, but it's not seen as very polite to talk about our fanny; in fact it is downright rude. Rude is an important, taboo-breaking book that shares the stories of pregnancy and periods, orgasms and the menopause, from women from all walks of life. From refugee camps in Calais to Oscar-winning actresses, to Nimko's own story of living with FGM, each woman shares their own relationship with their vagina and its impact on their life.

Edition details

• Publisher: Viking
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 024129262X
• ISBN 13: 9780241292624
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 272