An Edinburgh care worker has recalled the moment she was given "a life sentence of pain" as she was forced to undergo female genital mutilation as a child.

Neneh Bojang spoke out as the Scottish Government prepares new legislation to protect people at risk of female genital mutilation (FGM) and to support victims.

The practice of cutting girls' genitals for non-medical reasons is prevalent in some parts of Africa and Asia, with Neneh recalling she was just nine when she was mutilated after visiting a market in the Gambia.

"Some of them were holding my legs, some of them my hands when they put me on the floor. I was laying on the floor and I remember a heavy lady was lying on my chest," she recalls.

"After that I passed out, I didn't remember being cut. I woke up in a pool of blood.

"As a child you think blood is death, I thought I was going to die."

Since undergoing FGM, Neneh has had a number of health issues and found giving birth extremely difficult and painful.

"They have sentenced me for life, that's how I see it," she says.

"I'm not sure even if I go through the process of getting it reversed, that I would feel the same way as if they didn't cut me."

As Scotland's population becomes more diverse, campaigners say it's important to focus on support for FGM survivors, as well as prevention.

Ashley Thompson, who works women's aid charity Shakti, says that FGM is a form of gender-based violence.

She adds that women who experience one type of gender-based violence are far more likely to experience other forms of the abuse.

"It's important as Scotland becomes more diverse, if we are really serious about being One Scotland, we need to create space and discussion about community issues for minority communities," she explains.

"Fundamentally it is an issue of child abuse, and so child abuse and child protection is an issue that everyone should be involved in."

Neneh adds: "I'm still going through the effects of FGM. It's good to talk about it because it's still happening, so if we keep quiet about and still treat it as a social norm, then it's never going to change..

"If we can save another child, then we have to speak about it".