The Amazonian Initiative Movement (AIM), through its donor partners, PfeffeeminzGreen and BMZ, on Friday, 4th August, 2023 officially showcased 60 women that have gone through the bloodless Bondo ceremony.
The august occasion was held at Rosenbgeh village, Koya Chiefdom, Port Loko district, Northern Sierra Leone.
The initiates were between the ages of 19-33 years and were the third batch to be initiated into the ‘bloodless Bondo’ Society in the country.
Among the initiates were lactating Mothers and students who have passed through the alternative rites of passage.
Addressing participants the Director of (AIM-SL), Madam Rugiatu Neneh Turay, said the 60 initiates are the third batch of successful initiates that have gone through the bloodless Bondo rituals.
She said that the project encompasses replacement of bondo bush with schools, construction of water wells, skill training centres and a host of other projects just to ensure that women become strong and self-reliant in their localities.
She said all of the initiates went through thorough screening processes before they were accepted to be part of the initiation ceremonies.
According to Madam Turay, FGM is a practice that has retrogressed women, especially in deprived communities in the country.
She added that when women if you go to hospitals and other medical facilities, you will found out that most of the victims are women that have gone through FGM initiations.
She said apart from the medical implications women undergo, politicians are also brain washing them by supporting them to take their daughters for FGM initiation, while daughters of those politicians are overseas attending expensive schools and universities.
She maintained that, women have suffered economic and psychological trauma as result this inhuman to practice.
Madam Rugiatu stressed that to ensure that such heinous practice is abolished, her organisation is working alongside the ministry of Planning and Economic Development, Ministry Health and sanitation as well as working with social Welfare Ministry.
She said what they normally do, is for officials from these Ministries and donor partners are being allowed to speak to the initiates on why they are trying to protect and preserve their clitoris.
According to her, some times midwives complained about the type of constraints women normally go through during child birth is because the thing that should have helped them to deliver safely has been removed.
She said in other to end FGM Practice, donor partners should shift their pattern of spending monies on Administrative Cost organizations, and direct their finding to the frontline activists for an impactful result.
“Use the funds to protect women and girls, direct your funds to us, you can see the result. These ceremonies are testament of the perfect work to end FGM in Sierra Leone,”. She said. “We are pushing hard to ensure that this happen.”
The representatives from the Irish Aid, UK and German Embassies expressed their gratitude to the AIM-SL organisation for standing tall to protect women and girls in Sierra Leone.
They said the Bondo without harm ceremony demonstrated the focus on protecting women and girls in Sierra Leone.
The representatives appreciated the community stakeholders for allowing Madam Rugiatu Neneh and her frontline workers to educate them about the harmful effect of FGM and all other related violence against women and girls.
They all expressed their determination to continue supporting frontline movements to achieve positive result, in protecting women and girls in Sierra Leone.
A representative from Forum Against Harmful Practice (FAHP), the Administrative Officer of FAHP, Ishmael Cole expressed thanks to AIM-SL especially Madam Rugiatu Neneh Turay who doubles as the Chairperson of FAHP and partners for making the ceremony a success.
Ishmael Cole also thanks the PfefferminGreen and BMZ organisations for their intervention and supporting AIM-SL for such huge projects to save women and girls in hard to reach communities.
He appealed to partners to see the reason to send their monies to smaller organisations, adding that these small organisations can produce better result.
One of the 60 initiates, Marie Kamara said no one was tortured inside the ‘Bondo’ bush, and that they learned new things while in the bush.
“They showed us how to prepare food, how to sweep, we were taught how to greet and respect elders,” she added.
She furthered that they were asked to collect fire wood for the chiefs and other elders as tradition demands.
‘What I passed through in that bush would make me survive any difficulties in my marriage and other places in the society;’, she affirmed.
She advised parents not to force their children into FGM and support the Alternative Rite of Passage.
Agness Kanu, a Sowei who has been initiating young girls into the FGM for the past 25years said at some point she was jailed for six months for allegedly killing an eighteen year old girl during initiation.
‘Since that time I quit the practice, but later joined bloodless bondo to sensitize other Soweis to stop the cutting aspect, because Bondo is still complete without cutting’. She said.
Soweis representative from Bonthe District, Representative from the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, Community Chief and other stakeholders all made meaningful contributions regarding the harmful traditional practices.
The ceremony climax by showcasing the 60 bloodless bondo initiates, dancing, and celebrations with the new graduands in the view of thousands of people in the village and neighboring villages.
