By: Prince J. Musa in Kenema
Forum Against Harmful Practices (FAHP) has held a panel discussion on the need to consider removing cutting from the “Bondo” society.
The panel discussion brought together parents, religious leaders and Sowei’s from across the country.
The discussion was held to commemorate the day of Zero Tolerance on Female Genital Mutilation.
Executive Secretary of the forum, Aminata Koroma, said: ‘’We are here to make a frantic discussion on the harmful practice from the Bondo culture and this doesn’t mean that FAHP is against the Bondo culture,” she said.
‘’Bondo as culture most restore its dignity and therefore the issue of underage initiation of girl’s is one aspect that should be abolished. But because the culture has been transformed in to a business, it has lost its past value in the society,’’ she added.
The Assistant Deputy Director of the Ministry of Social Welfare East, Haja Alice Jeneba Koroma, praised the initiative.
“The approach of FAHP in embarking on awareness raising against the harmful practices of the Bondo culture is in the right direction as girls should be allowed to learn so that they can decide whether to join the Bondo society," she said, adding: "They should not be forced into it.”
FAHP is one of many rights groups that have been working on sanitizing the Bondo society. Soweis (the women who do the cutting) have been condemned for cutting girls or women during the process.
The Bondo society is one of the most important ritual for women in Sierra Leone. It is considered as an institution to transform girls to women.
Mrs Koroma said: ‘’Bondo has a lot of good things for those who have gone through it, but its focus has been diverted from normal traditional values to a business form, and against this backdrop, some sowies are initiating the Bondo in houses and hospitals, which deprived the survivors from knowing anything about the Bondo culture.”
Koroma said they realized the importance of the institution. She said she had faith in other practices that were taught to girls.
”FAHP is against the cutting of women, but we want all the other cultural practices to remain in the Bondo culture. Bondo is a well-organized institution like any other formal educational places as it is the transformation stage where women are groomed to become adult, to become mothers, to respect elders and to maintain the Bondo culture’’.
Rights group campaign against female genital cutting in Bondo
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