-As Nimba Joins Margibi To Graduate several Minors from Sande Bush
BY: Shallon S. Gonlor
GBLIYEE TOWN, NIMBA CO. — Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is reportedly making a resurgence in YarmieAdministrative District, Nimba County, as traditional women continue to practice this harmful ritual.
This development follows the recent release of over thirty females, including minors and teenagers, from the Zenah Hill Sande Society School in Weala, Margibi County. Like ZenahHill, Gbliyee Town has seemingly reintroduced the traditional practice. Undoubtedly, this defies ongoing efforts by the government and various organizations to eradicate FGM that aims to uphold the dignity of women and girls.
Earlier this year, Liberia witnessed traditional practitioners across the country, including those in Nimba County, surrendering their FGM tools to Chief Zanzan Karwor, the former Chairperson of the National Council of Chiefs and Elders of Liberia. This act was intended to signal a collective commitment to ending the practice. Through the EU Spotlight Initiative, heritage centers (Alternative livelihoods) were built in Nimba and three (Lofa, Cape Mount, and Montserradocounties) of the (11) eleven FGM counties to help get the traditional women off the bushes.
However, in less than a year, reports indicate that some traditional women in Nimba County, particularly in GbliyeeTown, have resumed the dangerous tradition, putting women and girls at risk once again. The recent ceremonies held on September 14 and 15, 2024, in Gbliyee Town, District 3, were marked by a celebratory atmosphere as parents joyfully welcomed their children back from the traditional bush school.
The event saw traditional women parading the unveiled girls and young women, presenting them to their families and allowing them to reintegrate into society and resume their education. Parents, especially mothers, were seen expressing their joy and relief as they greeted their children, who had completed their time in the Sande Bush and graduated from the traditional school.
It is believed that FGM makes them (women) full members of the Sande society, becoming very respectful in their communities of tradition. The ceremony marked a moment of celebration and transformation in the lives of the newborn traditional practitioners, women, and young girls, dressed up in their befitting outfits, dancing, and singing as they faced a ‘new way of life’ in their livelihoods. Traditional practitioners from various villages and neighboring towns gathered in GbliyeeTown over the weekend in respect of the harmful and controversial FGM practice.
Speaking at the unveiling ceremony, the head of traditional women in Gbliyee Town whose name was undisclosed said she including her women considered the importance of FGM banning in the country, but they deem it prudent to respect their tradition and culture. “Our big-big people asked us to stop and we agreed to… Again our tradition must be respected” she stated. Permanently, according to her, FGM will not end because of its values, thus preparing women to face the future that lies ahead in their matrimonial home to respect their male partners.
She further highlighted the harmful impact but maintained that the practice will continue to go on as tradition mandates. “We feel the pain but that is the tradition” the Gbliyee traditional women’s head noted. For their part, citizens and residents of Gbliyee Town have condemned the banning of Female Gentile Mutilation, a practice they claimed is very important to them.
Sande Society is a traditional school that initiates young girls and women into adulthood by performing traditional rituals including female genital mutilation (FGM). In Gbliyee Town, citizens have had no idea that FGM is a violation of the fundamental human rights of women and girls, unaware of the consequences and complications associated with FGM, which include severe pain, excessive bleeding, infection, infertility, increased risk of HIV transmission, and even death.
As the country strives for gender equality and human rights, there exist deeply rooted practices that continue to harm and oppress women and girls. Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), a harmful practice, is one such practice that has persisted for centuries, affecting millions of lives across the globe.
FGM encompasses various procedures that involve the partial or complete removal of external female genitalia or other forms of injury to the female genital organs. This horrific practice has been carried out for cultural, religious, or societal reasons, causing physical, emotional, and mental harm to the girls and women subjected to it.
ZERO TOLERANCE FOR FGM
Investing in educational programs, life skills training, and entrepreneurship opportunities, will help equip women and girls to advocate for a world where future generations are free from FGM. In Liberia, girls whose mothers have a primary education are less likely to undergo FGM than those whose mothers have no education. About hundreds and thousands of girls in Liberia are still at risk of undergoing FGM.
