FGM Claims Another Girl Child
Recent findings by the country’s forensic pathologist, Dr. Owizz Koroma over the death of a 14 years old school girl that was forcibly initiated into the Bondo Secret Society and reportedly died shortly afterwards, has revealed that the poor girl bled to death, as a result of the initiation rites.
What this indicates is that these secret female societies are still practicing what has been described by concerned Civil Society Organizations as harmful practice that should be abolished, and is also a complete violation of the provisions of the Child Rights Act, which directs that only girls that have attained the age of 18 and have given their consent to be initiated should be allowed to go through such ceremony.
Though it is a traditional practice of passage to womanhood, and practices across the country, the law makes it a criminal offence for girls below the age of consent to be initiated (.i.e. 18 years). The law also prescribed as an offence for any girl to be forced into the said initiation.
Unfortunately, the practice of forcing young girls below the age of consent into the Bondo has been the norm, despite the several engagements with traditional leaders on the law and the dangers involved in such practice by various female Rights Groups, including campaign by a former Deputy Minister of Social Welfare Minister in the last government against the practice. It could be recalled that the campaign of the First Lady, Madam Fatima Bio, dubbed “Hands Off Our Girls”, did not only confine its objective to sexual exploitation of girls, but embraced issues surrounding forced initiation, child abuse and early marriage. This prompted the government to declare an emergency over the rights of girls, leading to a review of the rights of children, though declared as Sexual Offences Act, but goes beyond that. To exhibit the seriousness that the government puts on such acts, President Bio personally embarked on a nationwide campaign with his wife to raise awareness over the dangers such acts pose to the girl child. Thus, it is heart-rending to think that people could still be forcing girls into the Bondo society, thereby endangering their lives.
There has been a lot of complaints about underage girls being initiated into the secret society that have resulted in deaths and other harmful effects on their lives. Concerned Sierra Leoneans are now raising their voices against those breaking the law and endangering the lives of these kids. Many are calling on the government to make as an example the perpetrators of this latest unfortunate incident to serve as a deterrent to others. They believe that by doing so, practitioners of FGM will stop forcefully initiating these underage girls and save the country from losing its promising young girls.
Several international conventions have been domesticated by the government of Sierra Leone to protect the lives of the girl child, and it is time for strict actions to be taken against defaulters of the law. Government should continue to protect the lives of our girls, as was promised by President Bio during his campaigns.
