Female Genital Mutilation Saga

Female genital mutilation, in short FGM continue to raise eye browse against anti-FGM Campaigners in this tiny West African state of Sierra Leone.

The death of Jeneba Kamara, a 12 years old girl in the Southern headquarter town of Bo was reported by the United Nation’s Radio on the 12th March. As a result of excessive bleeding due to genital mutilation. Ironically, her death has evaporated to thin air because those who often lost their lives in these rituals are branded as witchcrafts.

Two months prior to this incident, thousands of women took to the streets of the eastern district town of Kailahun to protest against the activities of anti-FGM Campaigners in their district.

these series of events showed the sensitivity of this issue in Sierra Leone. And the anti FGM Campaigners have so far failed to lure the support of government to make the issue a national agenda. As a result of the alienation this may cause amongst the people especially the natives, who constitute of over ninety five percent of the country’s population. They are fervent believers of the said practice. Whilst the Creoles, who are non believers of the practice are just merely above a percent of the country’s population. Beside, the Creoles form a small elite group in the capital city of Freetown. They form the bulk of the anti- campaigners.

In the 2002 president election, Mrs. Zainab Bangura the Country’s Foreign Minister was a flag bearer of one of the small political parties, put anti-FGM as one of her party’s agenda. She was booed and abusive language were reined at her in the eastern headquarter town of Kenema. Back in the 1996 presidential run-off between erstwhile President Tejan Kabbah of the Sierra Leone People’s Party (S.L.P.P) and Dr. John Kerefa -Smart of the United Nation People’s Party (UNPP). The S.L.P.P used an anti-FGM propaganda against Kerefa- Smart, whose wife is an African -American that if elected, as president, female genital mutilation would be banned and that paid off in favour of the SLPP.

The FGM practice is an ancient old tradition in the length and breadth of Africa. It is argued that the practice provide premise to prepare young girls for the challenges of

Marriage. So after the ritual ceremonies, the girls are often paraded to lure suitors, who may take their hands in marriage. There is another school of the taught, which argued that the practice reduces the sexual urge of women though that is yet to be clinically proven. And above all it is further argued that those who often lost their lives during the ritual are witch craft.

On the contrary Anti -FGM campaigners alleged that female genital multination is performed in three different fashion. The first type of mutilation is the cutting of the tip of the female genital organ. The second is the partial cutting of the genital organ. whilst, the third is the cutting of the whole genital organ. And of these three fashions, it is argued that the second and third are more harmful to their victims than the first. Even though they pose similar threat to their victims, like excessive bleeding that may lead to subsequent death, cause difficulty in child delivery and prone to infection.

Already, Senegal, Kenya and Egypt to name but few African countries have officially banned the practice. But according to sources, the practice has only lessened amongst Western educated women just like in most other countries, where the campaign has taken hold. The practice still persists in rural communities and in most urban settings. Some women have hired the service of traditional healer to perform the ritual at their homes. Others have gone up to the extent to hire the service of medical practitioners to perform the ritual clinically. But that notwithstanding, those perform in their shrines are still in record number.

Two years ago, a Togolese woman residing in the United States was prosecuted, as the practice is prohibited there, for bringing her daughter to undergo the ritual in her native Togo. Nonetheless, some women have taken advantage of the divergent views between Africa and the West on this practice precipitated by their difference in culture, to sought political asylum in the West.

But whatever the case may be against or for anti FGM, the anti FGM Campaigners have an uphill task to change women’s perception to forgo their ancient old tradition in Sierra Leone.