The article examines the importance of
credibility in refugee hearings and the
gendered problems associated with its
evaluation. The author uses female genital
mutilation (FGM) as a case study, as many
women claiming asylum on the grounds of FGM
face difficulty in establishing credibility.
The article begins by defining refugee status
and the relevance of credibility in
establishing a claim as per the UNHCR
handbook. Next, the author discusses
credibility determinations in Ireland. The
article then draws links between credibility
and FGM and the author concludes by proposing