By Sallieu S. Kanu
The Country Director of the Amazonian Initiative Movement (AIM-SL) Sierra Leone, Madam Rugiatu Neneh Turay has served as the keynote speaker on a conference on Ending Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)’.
The conference with the theme, ‘Catalyzing and globalizing actions to end FGM’ was held in Kigali, Rwanda.
The conference brought together donors and grassroots activists from five (5) continents to discuss various topics geared towards ending FGM.
Speaking at the conference , Neneh Turay said most of the harmful traditional practices have negative health, social, economic, psychological and environment impacts on women and girls, but yet people are ignorant about the harmful effects.
She said the conference is geared toward stimulating and educating countries in the five continents to have common goals to support a robust campaign, to hold duty bearer accountable in their actions in protecting women and girls, and to end FGM practice.
Madam Turay said that sometimes people don’t know where and when FGM started, adding that people have strong desire to become members of the practice despites its harmful impacts.
She said that harmful practices are done mainly in secret without informed consent.
She stated that efforts to resist change could be easily gathered and mostly associated with a kind of spiritual power that regulates its activities and membership.
The practice, she maintained, instills fear and terror on members and non-members, as a way to maintain it status quo.
AIM-SL Director about the myths on FGM, adding that most people see FGM as a way to prepare girls for adulthood, womanhood and marriage as well as preservation of the girl’s virginity.
According to Madam Turay, the community people in Sierra Leone still believe that removing certain parts of the female genitals which they consider ugly, makes the female genital beautiful, adding that it is also believed that the part removed (clitoris) is unclean and unfeminine.
Madam Turay said that her organization AIM-SL and the Forum Against Harmful Practices (FAHP) are always working towards a cultural friendly approach with a conformed campaign messages and one objective which is zero tolerance on FGM.
Madam Turay lauded the organizers for the wonderful conference.
She said that that the engagement will benefit a lot of countries that are always ready to work towards zero tolerance on FGM.
She urged participants campaigners to break those vicious cycles on FGM and protect the rights of women and girls worldwide.
She also spoke how politicians are in habit to using FGM to gain votes, adding that they would buy building materials to build Bondo bushes for FGM initiation instead of building schools.
She also urged women in different Continents to observe and adhere to the alternative rite of passage on FGM, adding that Sierra Leone has piloted the bondo without blood which she said, was successful.
Madam Turay stated that the bondo without blood is working and it have respect for women, while appealing to women to think of planting trees.
“We want the bondo society but without FGM,” she said.
Turay urged participants of the conference to cascade the engagement to their different continents as well as communities.