By Ragan M. Conteh
Amazonian Initiative Movement (AIM), a non-governmental organisation committed to fighting Female Genital Mutilation and promoting the right of girls and women, on May 1, 2023, handed over a newly constructed modern six-classroom primary school building to the people of Rosengbeh village, Koya Chiefdom in Port Loko District.
The newly constructed school is part of her organisation’s work to end female genital mutilation in Sierra Leone, according to the Executive Director of AIM, Madam Rugiatu Neneh Turay.
“It is also part of my stride to replace Bondo bushes with schools in the country,” she said.
The newly constructed school is one among many ongoing supports to end FGM and empower women and girls in the country.
Addressing the attendees during the opening ceremony of the six-classroom building at Rosengbeh village, Madam Neneh Turay said that, as an organisation they removed FGM shrines and built schools in their places. According to her, “If we really want our daughters to go to school, let’s reduce the Bondo bushes [shrines], and let’s ensure the initiators (Sowies) to monitor these girls during school hours.”
Construction of the school is supported by BMZ/PfefferminzGreen.
Before the construction of the school, the organisation held consultative meetings with stakeholders to determine the felt needs of the community. It was during these meetings it was established that# the construction of a modern primary school to replace the secret society (Bondo) bushes was the felt need of the community.
Madam Turay applauded stakeholders in the communities for attending the ceremony, adding that her organisation decided to construct the school as a replacement of the Bondo society bushes. She intimated that education has been proven to be a successful agent of change in terms of ending female circumcision.
The Executive Director said that her organisation is fighting tooth and nail to help women and girls who suffer depression as a result of this bad traditional practice.
“I want people to know that I am part of the Bondo society and I am proud of it but hate the female cutting aspect. We still have the highest infant mortality rate in the world, yet we are scared to talk about female genital cutting which is a contributing factor to it,” Madam Neneh Turay.
She underscored how rural women and girls are the victims of the practice, adding that educated people hardly involve their children but they are the ones sponsoring the construction of Bondo bushes across the country.
Madam Turay informed stakeholders that it is difficult to find a politician who sponsored the initiation of his/her daughter but they are the ones bankrolling the initiation of young girls in rural communities.
“The Bondo Society is an institution where women meet and interact irrespective of our political alliances, educational background, and status. When we are in the society, we are all the same and so we want to ensure we bring back the good things that have been eroded,” Rugiatu stated.
She maintained that AIM-SL will continue implementing projects to replace the Bondo Bushes with schools.
The human rights lawyer Yasmin Jusu Sheriff pointed out the implications when girls are subjected to the FGM practice. She said she came to know Madam Rugiatu Neneh Turay many years ago, adding that their sisterhood was deeply established when Madam Turay was working to end the FGM practice.
Lawyer Sheriff appealed to parents and Soweis to send their children to school instead of sending them to a practice that retrogresses them. She said a lot of girls have been affected negatively due to this harmful traditional practice. She promised to do something good for the newly constructed school.
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The Secretary of the Forum Against Harmful Practices, Madam Aminata Koroma, called on the initiators to stop the habit of initiating young girls and to help closely monitor them.
She said the reason why the initiators should stop the initiation of girls is because there has been no benefit in what they do, save for entangling themselves in a lot of sins.
She maintained that since Sowies started the trade of girl initiation, none of them could boast of having a car or living a decent life.