By Alusine Sesay
Maseray Sei, 21-year-old woman, has died as a result of excessive bleeding after her clitoris was cutat a Bondo bush in Nyandehun village, Imperri Chiefdom, Bonthe District on December 20, 2021, according to a statement from theForum Against Harmful Practices (FAHP), a coalition of 21 organizations working to end Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).
It was reported that the deceased MaseraySei was found dead at about 4: 30am on Monday December 20, 2021, after having allegedly bled to death due to undergoing FGM/C during an initiation with other young women.
According to FAHP, four “Soweis”(senior officials within the Bondo society) and, the Acting Section Chief Nasiru Koroma of Bigo Section, who allegedly permitted the initiation, are helping the Sierra Leone Police (SLP) with investigations at the Sierra Rutile Police Division in Moriba Town, whilst the remains of the deceased has been taken to the Bo Government hospital for post-mortem.
FAHP, said it appreciates the fact that the matter is being investigated by the SLP and that a post-mortem has been ordered.
The death of Sei occurred at a time whenthe ban on initiations into secret societies during the COVID- 19 emergency outbreak is still in force.
According to members of the Forum, the death of Maseray is a wake- up call to all women organizations.
“We don’t need to work on FGM before you can make a statement condemning the action which has led to the death of another woman…. We are all Maseray,” Rugiatu Neneh Koroma, Head of the Forum stated.
Forum Against Harmful Practices called on Government through the Ministry of Gender and Children’s Affairs to take the necessary action to give justice to the late woman.
“One death is too many in the name of culture,” Rugiatu averred.
She said thatthe cutting of girls and women for non-medical or any valid purpose, wherever it is carried out, is a barbaric act and has no place in Sierra Leone, and continued: “FAHP and its partners, including the International Community, are therefore calling for the total abandonment of FGM.”
“We are also calling on the Ministries of Gender and Children’s Affairs, Social Welfare, Local Government and Rural Development and Political and Public Affairs and all stakeholders to use this unfortunate incident to shift their stances from ‘age of consent’ to total abandonment and a ban of FGM/C, uphold the Bondo heritage, Bondo is not FGM/C,” the Forum affirmatively stated.
In an open letter to President Bio, FAHP said, “Your Excellency, we are with the conviction that Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) is not and should not be part of our Bondo society because it is seen and experienced as barbaric act that has untold suffering on women and girls. It is by extension an act of human right violation.”
“FGM/C practice is the partial or total removal of the clitoris and or with the minora and majora in most cases. The World has called on countries where FGM/C is practiced to take action and put an end to it, because of its negative consequences on not only women and girls but the damaging health effects on communities and nation as a whole.”
FAHP said, “Your Excellency, can I make a gentle reminder that Sierra Leone is a signatory to the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Maputo Protocol. The Maputo Protocol has been passed in the House of Parliament by the previous government with no reservations on the FGM clause.”
“Sir, women in Sierra Leone have suffered and continue to suffer, all in the name of culture preservation. The death of the 21-year-old MaseraySei is another clear call on the Government to take action to end FGM/C. This incident has left Sierra Leoneans in shock and fear due to the rampant spate of FGM/C initiations in communities across Sierra Leone.”
FAHP informed the President that most of the FGM/C initiations are supported by elected and appointed citizens, who are using the strategy as a campaign tool to get support from their electorates rather than investing in girl’s education to support the President’s vision on Free Quality Education.
“Sir, Forum Against Harmful Practices (FAHP) is often misunderstood that we are against Bondo Society – No Sir we are not. What we are against is the cutting of the female clitoris for non-medical purposes. We believe and stand by the rite of passage as tradition demands, but it should be done without cutting of the clitoris. We have piloted the rite of passage without cutting the clitoris in some districts and it has worked out well. This is what we stand for and that we have started propagating. We are against the several health hazards and eventual deaths of women and girls who have suffered and continue to suffer quietly.”
“FAHP and the women/girls of this country are pleading with you to salvage this situation, by putting an absolute abandonment to the FGM/C practice in Sierra Leone. We are happy for the ban you put on all secret societies during Covid19. Although the ban is still in place, Officials or Parliamentarians continue to support FGM/C activities thereby, sabotaging your proclamation which in itself is indiscipline to the highest degree. All other cultural practices abide to the ban but Bondo and their perpetrators seem to be different. Sir, our bodies should not continue to serve as political battle grounds. In this 21st century FGM/C should have no place in our society. Let us join the other African Countries and the world at large by eliminating FGM/C and protecting women in full.”