Anti- FGM [Female Genital Mutilation] campaigners in Sierra Leone have won a major support in their bid to outlaw the practice.
The Speaker of Parliament, Dr Chernor Abass Bundu, has not only thrown his weight behind the campaign but he also promised to present a petition seeking to have the government ban FGM to President Julius Maada Bio and leaders of political parties in the House.
Bundu, according to a news release from the House of Parliament, made the commitment during a meeting with a group of female campaigners on Thursday, February 3, when they called at his office in Parliament to present the petition to him.
The campaigners were led by Rugiatu Nenneh Koroma, the head of the Amazonian Initiative Movement (AIM), one of the leading anti-FGM groups in the country.
Bundu was cited in the release saying that the time had come for Sierra Leone to evaluate its cultural practices and decide as a people what was good to be preserved and what needed to be discarded. He however noted that this should be done through persuasion rather than force.
The petition comes after the death of a 21-year old girl due to complications relating to FGM. Maseray Sei is the latest victim of a practice its supporters say is cultural but which opponents say is responsible for the suffering of many women and girls.
Maseray died due to bleeding after been subjected to FGM, according to campaigners and medical report. The incident late last December sparked a global appeal for the Sierra Leone government to outlaw the practice.
FGM entails the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia for non-medical reasons. Those calling for its ban say it’s a form of violence against women and girls and a manifestation of gender inequality and discrimination.
Hemorrhaging, infections, severe pain and psychological trauma are the common complications associated with FGM.
In extreme cases, it results in death.
Some victims also have to deal with long term effects including chronic infections, problems affecting the bladder, uterus, and kidneys and lifelong reproductive health complications.
AIM is one of 130 women’s rights groups from around the world which, in an open letter published on Tuesday, February 1, appealed to President Bio and his Attorney General Mohamed Lamin Tarawalley to enact a law banning FGM.
In Sierra Leone, FGM is linked to a tradition called Bondo, which is a rite of passage to adulthood for women. Supporters therefore cite this supposed cultural significance.
The campaign to put an end to FGM in the country has therefore been met with stiff resistance.
Consequently, Sierra Leone has one of the highest FGM prevalence rates in Africa, with 83% of women and girls aged between 15 and 49 having undergone the procedure, according to the 2019 Demographic Health Survey.
A major obstacle faced by anti-FGM campaigners has been the involvement of politicians in Bondo.
In the past prominent politicians have spoken out in support of the practice. Some politicians even go further to provide financial support to facilitate initiation ceremonies, with the goal of gaining political supports.
Even though some politicians have recognised the harmful nature of the practice, collectively they have failed to take any action to put an end to it.
The support of the Speaker is therefore a major boost for the campaigners against the practice.
According to the parliament report, Bundu acknowledged the difficulty involved in getting people accept change, but he noted that he himself was a great believer in a change that seeks to preserve good tradition and discard undesirable ones.
