Female Genital Cutting (FGC) - Slicing through the next generation

Despite conclusive findings and harrowing accounts from young people speaking out about the abuse they experienced at the hands of medical providers, involuntary genital cutting remains a routine procedure, practised throughout the world.

For the sake of this post, I've decided to narrow my research and finding to a place closer to home.

According to a report by Amnesty international, most countries in Africa normally participate in Female Genital Mutilation (GMF) or otherwise known as Female genital cutting (FGC). Though if one was to geographically narrow it down to West Africa, FGC is regularly performed in Sierra Leone.

The report also outlines how the existence of the practice has been around for hundreds of years and is seen as an ancient cultural institution that plays a major role in West Africa.

It continues to illustrate the necessary steps taken to conduct the procedure from the initiation phase which occurs in the "Bondo" bush, which is a private enclosure constructed near a village.

Time spent in the "Bondo" bush for initiation into womanhood is said to take up to two months, but as generations have gone by, the time has significantly reduced.

“Bondo" is a term used to describe a Sierra Leonean women’s secret society " A controversial tradition practiced particularly by those from the Mende tribe since the beginning of time,” says a spokesperson for the Amnesty organisation.

These findings immensely shock me as a Mende born, Sierra Leonean woman myself. Fortunately enough for me, growing up in Australia has fostered me from being involved with such practices.

According to another reported conducted by Unicef, once a woman becomes a member of the "Bondo" society, she is able to go to the "Bondo" ceremonies without her husband’s permission.

Though women nowadays have more exemption to do as they please, back in the day, to the Mende women, the "Bondo" society was the only place women were allowed to go to without permission of their husbands. Thus, women who are part of "Bondo" have an increased freedom of movement.

Salamatu Kamara was just fifteen when her mother thought it best to join her in the ‘Bondo’ circumcision. procedure.

She remembers it well, as if it was just yesterday. Her mother had coaxed her and told her not to worry. She was lead into the bush and told the importance of going through the rite.

“I was told, in order to become a respectable woman and increase my chances of getting married, I needed to be cut and I was also told the procedure would reduce my sexual urges until then.”

“I closed my eyes tight and tried to gather my courage, I wanted to wait a little longer, but my mother and another woman held me down.” she said.

Salamatu was very poignant whilst talking about her experiences. She does not particularly like talking about that day as she took an oath never speak of it to someone who had not gone through the procedure.

“It’s a secret and we’re not allowed to speak about it, if I was back home I would be crucified for telling you any of this information. We were forced to take an oath of secrecy,” she said.

Salamatu says after the procedure women are forced to endure three days of resting, whereby they sit in a chair, dress in white and her whole body, from head-to-toe were covered with white powdery substance called “hojo”.

Women from all around the village then celebrate her transition to womanhood by showering her with gifts, praises, dance and cultural songs.

Though I'm a big critic and strongly against the practice, i quite frankly wouldn't have minded the gifts at that age. Many may perceive me as a hypocrite for this statement but honestly, which child at the age of 15 or below wouldn't want gifts. (Just saying)

Salamatu however did not obviously view her horrific ordeal as such and frankly no young child would.

“I remember I had to sit there for three whole days, the only time I was allowed to move was to eat, use the bathroom and sleep. I was woken up at 5 o’clock to repeat my sitting procedure again the next morning,” said Salamatu.

Hassanatu a devoted member of Sierra Leone Descendants Association of Queensland (SLEDAQ) speaks out about her experiences with the procedure and how other women in the community are handling the situation.

“I have personally being a victim and I can understand how these ladies feel, it’s a very difficult topic to discuss because at the end of the day the procedure is very traumatising."

“We the women of SLEDAQ ensure we provide sufficient support to these women and we continue to raise awareness through educational programs within our community and beyond to Sierra Leone and we hope that one day this whole practise will be abolished,” Said Hassanatu.

According to Hassanatu, several attempts to modify or totally abolish this ritual viewed by many as morally wrong have yielded no positive result.

Sierra Leone is not the only country subjected to the practise; it is seen in other parts of Africa such as Somalia.

This was evident when Supermodel and anti-FGM Waris Dirie spoke out about her ordeal in a movie and her published book which she titles “desert flower.”

The story is based on her own real life experience which was played by another fellow a young girl who was on the verge of the going through the ordeal until Dirie rescued, educated and spoke with her parents first hand.

Published in 1997, her first book follows Dirie from her birth into a nomadic family in Somalia, from whom she fled, aged 13, after her father attempted to marry her off to a 60-year-old man, through to her becoming an international supermodel.

What intrigued me the most was how well the movie capturing the Dirie’s younger life, when she was forcefully subjected to the practice.

According to Diris, just like Sierra Leone, in Somalia the cutting of a girl's vagina is considered to be a symbol of purity, a sign of commitment to a future husband over a desire for sexual pleasure.

In severe cases, the remaining outer labia are sewn together, often without anaesthetic, and only reopened after marriage, to "protect" a girl's virginity.

Traditional or spiritual motivations aside, the procedure is deemed a practical necessity for many parents without GFC they cannot get a high bridal price when their daughter is married and that is given if she can get a husband at all.

Her book also provides compelling evidence of the pressures within particular groups, including those in England and Wales, where more than 66,000 women are thought to have undergone FGM and 24,000 girls under the age 15 are believed to be at risk.

Looking into these figures, it shocked me enough to acknowledge that these practices are not only restricted within Africa and that it happens in such large numbers in the western world. Honestly speaking I've always been oblivious the the ideology that first world countries would condone such practices.

However more awareness is generated in these counties than those of Dirie's and Salamatu.

According an article published by Guardian, a campaign is underway to persuade the education secretary, Michael Gove, to help end FGM by ordering head teachers in England to educate parents and children about the practice.

This campaign had gathered so far more than 203,000 signatures since it was launched. It is backed by the Observer, the Guardian and a range of campaigners.

Even more closer to home, though it is illegal in Australia, the procedure is still been practised in our own backyard with the first female genital mutilation case occurring in Sydney.

In the case, according to an article published by the Sydney morning herald, an elderly woman was pleaded guilty to performing genital mutilation on her two young sisters.

Though there is evidence that female circumcision is still present within Australia due to the number of women who undergo the procedure, a recent report on the other hand from the National Education Toolkit for Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting in Australia (NETFA) found the procedure has gradually declined due to advocacy protests and petitions issues against the practice.

However that has not stopped it happening here, according to a statement on ABC by Dr Ted Weaver from the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

“There is some evidence to suggest that it does happen in certain parts of Australia,” said Dr Weaver.

“It’s hard to gauge the actual numbers because it prohibited by legislation and it’s something that is performed in an underground way.

“But certainly there have been reports of children being taken to hospital after having the procedure done with complications," he said.

The article also highlights how Melbourne’s Royal Women’s hospital is said to be seeing between 600 to 700 women each year who have experienced the procedure of some form.

However, surprisingly, in contrast, the practice continues to become a popular trend within society as surgeons are seeing an increasing request from females for the procedure.

Dr. Mark Edinburg from Eden’s Institute of plastic and cosmetic surgery says he conducts such procedures on occasional basis.

“There has been an increasing demand for Labiaplasty (Aesthetic Genital Surgery) in Sydney, due to the rising awareness of genital appearance.”

“Most of my patients are females who tend to have discomfort from enlarged labia. Patients may have functional issues relating to comfort, clothing, tenderness, sex and there may also be aesthetic issues,” said Edinburg.

Edinburg also insists that all genital surgeries conducted by him are consensual based on the personal wish of the patient.

“It comes down to a self-conscious thing, some females are originally born with enlarged labia and are not happy with the size, what this surgery does is to simply reduce it by trimming the protruding labia along the entire labial length or using the extended central wedge technique.”

“It’s a non-painful procedure and the results are incredible and my patients leave feeling more confident at the end of it,” Said Edinburg.

With the raising numbers, the focus for Australia has been prevention, though campaign group 'No FGM Australia' said the priority should also be on the restorative surgery.

"I think it's a human right for women to have access to this surgery if they want it, they should not be forced into anything" said managing director of No FGM Australia, Paula Ferrari.

According to a report by ABC reporter Elise Worthington the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) has introduced world-first guidelines to respond to the increasing number of women visiting GPs to ask about female genital cosmetic surgery.

The guidelines are designed to help doctors navigate women's concerns about their genital appearance and understand the underlying reasons why they may believe they look "abnormal".

Author Dr Magdalena Simonis from the RACGP said often GPs were the first point of contact for women with questions about genital appearance.

"They might come in requesting a referral or they might just express some embarrassment when they come in for a gynaecological check-up," Said Dr Simonis.

"A lot of women don't know enough about their own genital anatomy to define what it is they want modified and they don't understand this could have negative long-term implications for them.

In the cases of Salamatu Kamara, campaigns around the world conducted by A UN resolution assembly are currently underway.

A high-level event at the UN General Assembly in September 2012 called for increased commitment and concerted action from governments to end the practice of FGM/C. A UN resolution aimed at intensifying global efforts to end FGM/C was approved for the first time on 26 November 2014.

Chantal Compaoré, the first lady of Burkina Faso who championed the resolution, hopes that African countries will sign it and take ownership of the ban.

According to a report by the Joint Programme for the Acceleration of the Abandonment of FGM/C, after two decades of global efforts to end this practice, many communities are also now embracing change. Close to two thousand communities across Africa abandoned the practice in 2011 alone.

Set up in 2008 by the UN Children’s Fund and the UN Population Fund, the programme seeks to spur change through a culturally sensitive, human rights–based approach that promotes collective abandonment of the practice.

Some previous strategies that regarded the rite as “barbaric” and “backward” met with resentment and backlash from local communities.

Recently, educational efforts have been playing a more central role in campaigns to end the practice, with many activists choosing to present FGM/C as a public health issue and concentrating on the harmful and sometimes deadly effects it has on young girls and women.

Although there is renewed hope for a global ban on the practice, so far there has been little focus on solutions for the many girls and women who have already undergone cutting.

The possibility of reconstructive surgery is therefore a god-sent to women like Salamatu.

“They took away part of my womanhood,” she says. “I just feel very deprived. I want to be whole again.”