It’s not unusual for viewers of Call The Midwife to find themselves wiping something from their eyes on Sunday nights, but tonight’s episode was especially moving.
The much-loved drama covered the harrowing and controversial issue of female genital mutilation as mum-to-be Nadifa, from Somaliland, was taken under the charge of the midwifery team.
As they prepared her for the delivery of her first child, the ladies were horrified to discover that her genitalia had been mutilated when she was a young girl – and compared to that of a doll.
Her physical condition was such that trying to give birth was a life-threatening situation – and distressing for everyone involved.
Fans of the show were beside themselves watching the painful portrayal of a very real problem.
An estimated 200 million girls around the world have been put through the procedure, which involves the partial or total removal of parts of the female genitals for non-medical reasons.
Many viewers were full of praise for the drama covering the issue.
Tonight’s episode of Call The Midwife was set against the terror of the Cuban missile crisis, as the sisters of Nonnatus House listened to US president John F Kennedy’s ultimatum to Russian president Nikita Khrushchev.
Jessica Neuwirth, founder of international women’s group Donor Direct Action, said it is “fantastic” that the programme and others, including Casualty and Law And Order, are bringing the issue into the mainstream.
The show’s creator Heidi Thomas has previously said she wanted to write about FGM for a long time but had to wait until the timeline of the show reached the 1960s.