Sierra Leone: FGM Here to Stay, Sierra Leone Minister Say

Sierra Leone will never ban Female Genital Mutilation because it is part of the country's culture, a top cabinet minister has said.

Social Welfare and Gender Minister Moijua Kaikai told a women's conference that reports of the government banning the age-old practice were merely rumours.

"Bondo will never die. It is part of our culture but it should be practised responsibly," Kaikai said at the end of a conference of 'Soweis', the name for elderly women who head various secret societies called 'bondo.' Members of these societies promote and carry out the initiations.

Bondo is a major part of Sierra Leone's culture as it acts as the bridge between adolescence and adulthood. Yet even baby girls are circumcised.

Gender activists consider the practice outdated and want it done away with.

FGM DANGERS

Doctors associate FGM with serious infections, bleeding, birth complications and death, at times.

Unicef says the practice is carried out in 29 countries in Africa and Asia.

The World Health Organisation estimates that 140 million women and girls worldwide have been subjected to the practice, with many coming from West Africa.

In 2012, the UN General Assembly called for its ban.

According to Unicef, of the 29 countries where FGM is practised, 24 have passed laws against it but Sierra Leone is not one of them.

PREVALENCE

The country has one of the highest prevalence of the practice in the world.

More than 80 per cent of Sierra Leonean women and girls have been cut, according to Unicef.

Gambia became one of 20 African countries to outlaw FGM when President Yahya Jammeh declared it illegal last month.

Nigeria, Central African Republic, Kenya, Egypt and South Africa are among countries that have banned it.

"Children the world over face the challenge of protection, health, education, labour and teenage pregnancy and marriage, which is often linked to early initiation into the bondo society," said Zihariliwa Nawalge, Chief of Child Protection at Unicef.

Due to the influential nature of traditional leaders, the government, aware of the political implications, is reluctant to ban FGM.

Source: AllAfrica