By Umaru Fofana
A 32-year-old woman in Kenema, eastern Sierra Leone says she fears for her life as members of the Bondo Society have allegedly threatened to put her through female genital mutilation. She appears in court with them today, Friday, in a case she filed.
Brenda Amara told Politico that after an altercation she had had with another woman last week, some Soweis - as the FGM initiators are called - surrounded her house to forcibly take her to the bush and put her through the procedure.
She said she was not at home at the time and was called by her daughter who was left petrified by the crowd of women.
Brenda said she went to the police for protection but she didn’t get one. She was instead asked to pass the night at the police station which she refused to do leaving her family at home.
“Initially the police at the Family Support Unit even refused to obtain a statement from me despite their boss - the AIG - having instructed them to”, she said. “Even though they did eventually do so, they didn’t treat my case seriously saying it was ‘cultural and therefore sensitive’”, she went on.
Brenda said she decided to press charges in court herself, against the Soweis, for the alleged intimidation and threats to forcibly initiate her into FGM. Hundreds of Soweis are expected to appear in court.
The Assistant Inspector General of police in the area, Francis Bundor denies his officers abandoned Brenda. He however told Politico that she did report the matter to the police but that they could not take action because his officers advised that the threat didn’t constitute a criminal offence “since it didn’t border on a threat to kill her”.
He said they did not send police to secure her at home because they thought they could best protect her at the police station. He admitted that a large crowd of women surrounded Brenda’s house at the time but assured that she was safe, and moving about in the town.
Uncertainty now surrounds Brenda’s safety judging by events of September 2016 when Soweis forcibly genitally mutilated 28-year-old Khadija Balayma Allieu, again after she had also had an altercation with another woman. On that occasion the police invited the ringleader but the Soweis surrounded the police station pelting stones, leading to her premature release. Khadija was saved by NGOs that intervened.
In February 2009, Soweis abducted and intimidated four female journalists after they had reported on FGM on the then United Nations Radio. One of them was stripped and frogmarched in the town.
(c) 2018 Politico Online.
