Model and The Real Housewives of Dubai star Chanel Ayan has opened up about surviving forced genital mutilation at the age of 5 with an intention to raise awareness about the practice and stop the “abuse.”

“I’m a survivor. I felt that I was utterly betrayed by my culture and my family. This is just a barbaric practice and it shouldn’t be happening to young girls. It happened to me 35 years ago and I’ve never gotten over it,” she told E! News exclusively. 

“This is practiced in over 28 African countries, the Middle East, Syria, Yemen. Even in America, I have cousins and family that still find ways to do it to the young girls behind the scenes, because you don’t need a doctor. You just need someone who knows how to do it,” the 44-year-old, who is of Somali and Ethiopian descent, told the outlet. 

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Who is Chanel Ayan? 

Chanel Ayan, whose real name is Ayan Pillott, was born and raised in Kenya. She started modelling at the age of 17 while she was still in Kenya. She then decided to move to Brazil to explore more opportunities. Her career soon flourished and she became a super model. 

She met her now-husband Salves, who is also a model, in Brazil. They tied the knot and moved to the United States where she started working with the Elite Model Agency. They soon moved to Dubai and have been living there since 18 years. The couple own several properties in Dubai, the US, and Kenya. They have a 14-year-old son named Taj who is also reportedly exploring a career in modelling. 

Ayan, who is 5 feet 10 inches tall, has also featured on a number of Vogue covers, including Vogue Italia and Vogue US. She became the  first black model to appear on the cover of a Dubai magazine. Ayan has also hosted CNN broadcasts all around the world and appeared on the reality show ‘The Real Housewives of Dubai.’ She reportedly has an estimated net worth of about roughly $5 million as of 2022.