A new practice called ‘breast ironing’ – where heated stones are beaten and pressed against the chest of girls reaching puberty to stunt their breast growth – is becoming more widespread amongst religious groups in the UK. Activist and FGM (female genital mutilation) survivor Leyla Hussein revealed the cruel practice in a new blog post for Cosmopolitan, with the UK National Committee for UN Women confirming the practice now affects 3.8 million women and girls worldwide. Particularly dominant in Cameroon, Nigeria and South Africa, with more cases rising in the UK, the practice sees flat stones being heated over a fire and then repeatedly banged into the chest of a girl going through puberty to reduce the size and growth of breast tissue. Image: Pakistan Today Describing her experience of the act, Hussein writes about the torture facing some women which is often explained by words like ‘culture’ and ‘tradition’: “Breast ironing is just another way to control a woman’s sexuality and perceived attractiveness. Breasts become a dangerous body part that must be removed in case they attract male attention, as if removing all signs of femininity from a girl’s body could protect her from being raped. “I underwent FGM for my ‘safety’ too. What an absurd world we live in when women’s bodies are not considered safe in their natural state, and men are not considered responsible for controlling their own urges.” Usually carried out by the victim’s mother as a ‘safety precaution’, the practice can actually lead to serious medical conditions including cancer, abscesses, infection, cysts, and even the complete disappearance of one or both breasts. Explaining her reason for opening up about her terrifying experience, Hussein said: “By keeping silent about practices such as breast ironing and FGM, we're telling girls they're not a priority. The priority is that they're sexuality is controlled.” You can read Leyla’s full blog post here.