The countdown is
on! Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation
(GWPF) kicks off its 6th annual Walk to End FGM scheduled for Saturday, October
19th on the Washington National Mall. Started in 2014, Walk to End FGM is a 5K
charity walk-A-thon against female genital mutilation (FGM). FGM
is the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia for
non-medical reasons. Most girls undergo
FGM when they are between 5 and 15 years old.
Practiced for more than 5 centuries, FGM made its way to Europe, the
U.K., Australia and North America due to the continuation of the practice.
Mission and
Purpose
The
mission of our organization is to empower women and girls through education to
eradicate gender based violence, with focus on female genital mutilation. The purpose of the Walk to End FGM is to
raise awareness about the practice of female genital mutilation and raise funds
to support our programs. The
organization saw the need to educate and inform the public in the U.S. that
this heinous and atrocious practice is not only a problem in Africa, Asia and
the Middle East; that it is a problem of the world.
Proceeds
The
proceeds raised from the Walk to End FGM are used to support the programs for
the rehabilitation of FGM survivors and the prevention of FGM on girls.
Statistics
According
to the Population Reference Bureau (PRB) and the Center for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), more than 500,000 girls in the U.S. are either at risk or are
living with post-consequences of FGM.
The states known with the highest numbers are California (56,872), New
York (48,418), Minnesota (44,293), Texas (33,087), Maryland (31,820) and
Virginia (30,830). The District of
Columbia has approximately 4000 women and girls.
Get Involved and
Participate
Form a team and invite others to join your team
and help raise funds
Join a team that is already formed
Register as an individual participant
Register as a virtual participant and help raise
funds (if you are unable to attend)
Sponsor a team or an individual participant or
sponsor the event
Be a Partner Organization with Global Woman
P.E.A.C.E. Foundation in the Walk to End FGM
Global Woman
P.E.A.C.E. Foundation is a registered 501c3 non-profit organization with the
U.S. Internal Revenue Service. As such,
your donations and registration fees are tax
deductible to the maximum extent required by law.
This Saturday the Inter-African Committee-USA will
hold their annual Vacances Sans Excision (Vacation or Summer without FGM). This is the fifth year that the organization
has held a special summer camp of West African cultural activities. The message the camp sends is that children
can have a summer full of fun and traditional activities without the presence
of female genital mutilation (FGM).
Vacances Sans Excision translated from French to English is Vacation or Summer
without Excision or FGM. The U.S. branch
of the Inter African Committee, more commonly known as IAC-USA on traditional
practices, affecting the health of women and children has been successful for five
consecutive years in bringing children together. The summer camp teaches, not only children
but parents alike of the alternatives to Vacation Cutting. The camp will convene this Saturday, August
17th at 10:00am at the Black Hill Nature & Visitor Center,
located at 20926 Lake Ridge Drive, Boyds, in the State of Maryland in the U.S. This year’s theme is “Protecting Girls and
their environment. Girls can be
initiated without mutilation.”
The purpose of Vacances Sans Excision is to
demonstrate to both the parents and children that vacation can be spent full of
fun and learning, without the lifetime trauma of excising girls. In most female genital mutilation (FGM)
practicing countries of the world, summer breaks are considered high season for
performing FGM on girls. In search of finding an alternative to parents taking
the girls to their countries of origin during the summer, IAC-USA implemented
the idea of a special summer camp.
The children attending the camp on Saturday can look
forward to a full day of games, traditional lessons, including dance, art,
debates, discussions, and meals. The
curriculum was designed to demonstrate the importance of teaching children
about their heritage; this includes necessary cultural traditions such as
dance, dress, food, public speaking, and the arts. The children will learn the importance of
West African traditions without the practice of FGM. The day is expected to begin with a
traditional assembly of speeches and music, as the children shout the usual
chant, “No FGM!” They can expect to
enjoy a mixture of delicious West African and American cuisine as children and
parents alike get acquainted.
Established in 2006 as a 501c3 nonprofit organization, the mission of the
IAC-USA is to promote the rights and well-being of women and children in
at-risk immigrant communities, by bringing an end to harmful traditional
practices through education, support, and encouragement of healthy traditional
values. It is part of a network of
international organizations in several countries, partnering with the United
Nations and local entities. The
organization endeavors to raise awareness of the continued predominance of
century-old harmful practices that are carried out against women and children
under the disguise of cultural traditions and religion.
According to their leadership, IAC-USA is dedicated to furthering the rights
of immigrant women and girls to freedom from harmful traditional practices of
their native countries and cultures.
This includes early forced marriage, female genital mutilation, and
other violent and injurious practices, while promoting the adoption of
beneficial traditions and rites of passage.
In countries such as Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea,
the girls enter the society bush to go through the rite of passage to
womanhood. During their stay in the
“bush”, they teach them to make baskets, cook meals, farming, how to be good
wives and mothers, etc. However baskets,
meals and farming are not the only things the girls experience in the so-called
“bush”; they also undergo FGM as part of the passage to womanhood. FGM is an integral part of the marriage
preparation in those countries. Camp
Vacances Sans Excision teaches girls all of the lessons learned in the Sande
and Bondo Society Bushes, but without the ritualistic initiation cutting of
their genitals.
“Vacation Cutting” is when girls are taken to their
parents’ countries of origin from either the United States or a European
country for the purpose of having FGM performed on them. In the year 2013, the U.S. amended the
federal law to add Vacation Cutting; if anyone, including a parent, guardian or
another adult takes a child from U.S. soil to another country for the purpose
of having FGM performed on her will be subject to five-year imprisonment and a
fine or greater. Several U.S. States,
such as Georgia, Virginia, Florida, Kansas, Nevada, and Michigan have included
the ‘Vacation Cutting’ clause in their state laws, which include the crossing
of state lines in the U.S.
On Friday, August 23rd, IAC-USA will hold a
formal closing ceremony to wrap up the camp for this year. Hosted by one of their partner-organizations,
Vital Voices Global Partnership, they hope to bring several of their supporters
and other partner-organizations together in the closing ceremony. The Executive Director of IAC-USA, Fatoumata
Kande said, “The Closing Ceremony will highlight our efforts and
accomplishments to date and will provide the opportunity to inform a broader
community in the U.S. and abroad of the work that still needs to be done.” The closing ceremony will be held at 1625
Massachusetts Avenue, Northwest #300, Washington, D.C. 20036 at 3:00pm until
6:00pm.
The Global Woman Newsletter has observed Camp Vacances Sans Excision grow for the past five years. The parents and children alike enjoy this camp. With five years under their belt, it is evident that Camp Vacances Sans Excision will be around for many future years, helping to protect girls and boys from harmful practices.
Your shopping makes a difference. Do your regular Amazon shopping at AmazonSmile and Amazon donates to Global Woman Peace Foundation.
In your charitable contributions and donations in 2019, please consider Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation by either through the DONATE BUTTON or by sending a check to Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation, 14001A Grumble Jones Court, Centreville, Virginia 20121. Your generous donations are tax deductible. Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation is a 501c3 nonprofit organization.
Do you enjoy playing with
words? This is a fun way to see how well
you can unscramble the following words.
We will reveal the unscrambled words in next week’s edition of the
newsletter. If you enjoyed this, write
and give us your feedback to info@globalwomanpeacefoundation.org.
Can
you unscramble the following five words?
This Week’s Scrambled Words
RETNI
NACIRFA EETTIMMOC (3 WORDS)
NOITACAV
GNITTUC (2 WORDS)
SECNACAV
SNAS NOISICXE (3 FOREIGN WORDS)
ODNOB
YTEICOS (2 WORDS)
GNISOLC
YNOMEREC (2 WORDS)
Last
Week’s Scrambled WordsLast Week’s Unscrambled Words
ESNOPSER RESPONSE
IOUQASSAM MASSAQUOI
SEOZ ZOES
YMOTCEDIROTILC CLITORIDECTOMY
YMOTCEDAIBAL LABIADECTOMY
We give you five scrambled words each week. We hope you enjoy playing.
Two weeks ago, Global
Woman Newsletter ran an article titled, Both
Sides of the Sande Society written by writer, Charles Massaquoi. The Newsletter promised a response to that
article. The following is the response
to that article.
Mr. Massaquoi stated in his article that the Sande
secret society maintains an interest in the well-being of its members
throughout their lives. He further
states that it promotes solidarity of its members. How can the Sande have the well-being of its
members at heart when such heinous crime is performed on the little girls? And what solidarity does the Sande promote? Is there an agreement to excise the private
parts of little girls?
The author wrote that girls spend their time in the Sande
School learning how to be wives, how to farm, how to dance, and learn about
sexual matters. There is nothing wrong
with learning how to dance or farm, or even how to be wives; however those
girls need a great deal more than that to constructively shape their lives for
the future. What sexual matters do the
girls learn? If you read Mr. Massaquoi’s
article from two weeks ago, you noticed he failed to mention the excision of
the girls’ clitoris and labia.
Mr. Massaquoi wrote that the clitoridectomy and
labiadectomy are performed by female specialists called “Zoes”. He failed to mention that their so-called
female specialists possess no medical experience whatsoever. Some of them are old mid-wives who have
delivered babies in their villages for many years, with absolutely no formal
medical training. The rate of infant and
maternal mortalities in Liberia is by far higher than those of other countries
in the world. The reason is partly due
to those inexperienced Zoes and partly because the expectant mothers had been
subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM) when they were little girls.
What a laugh to Mr. Massaquoi’s claim that in most
African communities a “good” woman is a graduate from the Sande School. The graduate must be young and a virgin,
according to Massaquoi. He boasts that
his sister met all of those qualifications.
He wrote, “Marrying ayoung beautiful girl at the age of 18 was a
blessing for the entire family.” Mr.
Massaquoi needs to wake up to reality.
There were countless of Liberian girls older than 18 years of age who
were still virgins at the time of marriage, and they certainly were not
graduates of the Sande School. Exactly
what constitutes a so-called “good” woman, Mr. Massaquoi; is it a woman with
part of most of her genitalia missing?
Are you agreeing that all Liberian women who did not pass through the
Sande School are not “good” women? Your
archaic article must have offended thousands of Liberian women who read it. Mr. Massaquoi wrote, “Most men in Sierra Leone and Liberia prefer to marry women from the
Sande Society. There is no doubt that the traditional school is a good place to
find a serious partner for the future. Research has shown that the men who
prefer Sande society graduates were serious about long-lasting relationship.” Who are most men in Liberia and Sierra Leone
to whom you referred when you wrote the above statement? Many Liberian and Sierra Leonean men have
come forward in recent years, to declare that they are totally against the
practice of FGM, and they prefer women who have not experienced it. Here are some statements from some of those
men: One husband said, “My wife is like
a dead chickensleeping next to
me. She has no feelings” Another husband
said, “I knew something was missing from my wife on our wedding night.” A brother said of his sister, “I hurt for my
sister because she has been married for so long and cannot have a child because
of what happened to her as a child.”
Beside what these men had to say, there are the psychological problems
the women who have survived FGM struggle with throughout their lives. Most of them are confused as to why this
atrocity was done to them. Mr.
Massaquoi, do they not explain to them in the Sande School why their external
genitalia were being amputated? The
article mentioned that the girls are taught about sexual matters. What sexual matters are they taught? Do they tell them how painful their future
sexual encounters will be, or that they might never conceive, or that their
wedding night might feel like they are being raped?
Mr. Massaquoi said he disagrees with the notion that
Africa is a male dominating continent.
He wrote, “It is misleading and
most of all, unfounded.” He also
does not feel that there should be an end to the Sande Society practice in West
Africa. In his own words, he stated, “Asking the Zoes to abandon this age-old
tradition is like telling someone to stop eating his or her favorite meal. As
long the Zoes live, the organization will continue to influence the role of
women in West Africa.” What a
comparison Mr. Massaquoi makes!
Comparing someone’s favorite meal to one of the most heinous and
atrocious practices on little girls is absolutely preposterous, Mr.
Massaquoi. Know that your Zoes will be
defeated by the rest of the world; they will not live forever. Times have changed and continue to change,
including for Liberia; men will stand up and continue to oppose the practice of
amputating little girls’ genitalia. The
new generation of women are standing up and refusing to have FGM done to their
daughters.
Mr. Massaquoi wrote in his article, “The society (meaning Sande) symbolizes the
power of African women.” What power
does the Sande Society render to a girl by amputating part or most of her
genitalia? The very act and process of
what is done to the girls leave them helpless and powerless. The girls are violently restrained, sat on,
and as they kick and scream, your so-called Zoes take unsterilized instruments,
without using any anaesthesia and unprofessionally excise parts of their
genitalia. Is that how the Sande Society
bestow power to women? Education is the
key to a bright future or empowerment to a girl. The education received from the Sande Society
is certainly not what a girl needs for a bright future in today’s world. Mr. Massaquoi agrees in his article, “Modern education prepares people to read
and write. In the Sande Society there is the opposite. I think the time has
come to re-examine the society’s role. I have relatives and friends who
graduated from the Sande Society who cannot read or write.”
However Mr. Massaquoi did attest in his article that
FGM and the Sande Society go hand in hand.
He declared, “It is difficult, if
not impossible, to get rid of this time-tested tradition in Africa.” Is it difficult to end FGM in Africa? Yes, it is difficult, but not
impossible. Most FGM- practicing African
countries have already banned the practice.
To date, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Mali are the only three African countries
without a law against practicing FGM.
The strong hold of your Sande and Bondo Societies in both Liberia and
Sierra Leone is mostly the reason for the hold-out of imposing a ban in those
countries.
Mr. Massaquoi admits, “Female circumcision is not only a tradition; it is today a source of
income (especially for the Zoes). The more girls one circumcises, the more
money one makes.” He is absolutely
correct in his prior statement; FGM has become more of a source of income in
the Sande and Bondo Societies than a tradition.
The Zoes get handsomely paid by the parents and guardians for excising
the girls. It is business as usual as
far as those so-called Zoes are concerned.
Giving Mr. Massaquoi some credit for ending his article sensibly and
logically when he wrote, “Female
circumcision is a crime against humanity. The people of Africa cannot allow
this act to continue. It must be stopped now. It is time to educate those who
are still promoting female circumcision that they must be more concerned about
the health of their daughters than satisfying the egos of men.” The preceding statement contradicts what Mr.
Massaquoi covered in most of his article.
Obviously Mr. Massaquoi grew up in a society and era that hailed the practice of FGM. But he now resides in a country (Sweden) that disdains the practice of FGM, and enforces laws against it. Perhaps it is his current country of residence that has the impact on him to admit that it is time to educate the parents, and teach them to concern themselves with the health of their girls as opposed to continuing an old-aged archaic practice.
Your shopping makes a difference. Do your regular Amazon shopping at AmazonSmile and Amazon donates to Global Woman Peace Foundation.
In your charitable contributions and donations in 2019, please consider Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation by either through the DONATE BUTTON or by sending a check to Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation, 14001A Grumble Jones Court, Centreville, Virginia 20121. Your generous donations are tax deductible. Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation is a 501c3 nonprofit organization.
Do you enjoy playing with
words? This is a fun way to see how well
you can unscramble the following words.
We will reveal the unscrambled words in next week’s edition of the
newsletter. If you enjoyed this, write
and give us your feedback to info@globalwomanpeacefoundation.org.
Can
you unscramble the following five words?
This Week’s Scrambled Words
ESNOPSER
IOUQASSAM
SEOZ
YMOTCEDIROTILC
YMOTCEDAIBAL
Last
Week’s Scrambled WordsLast Week’s Unscrambled Words
ODNOB
YTEICOS BONDO
SOCIETY
EDNAS
YTEICOS SANDE
SOCIETY
SEOZ ZOES
NOISICMUCRIC CIRCUMCISION
YMOTCEDIROTILC CLITORIDECTOMY
We give you five scrambled words each week. We hope you enjoy playing.
Last Friday, July 26th marked the 172nd
year since the Liberian Declaration of Independence was signed and that West
African country celebrated its independence from the American Colonization
Society.
Some Liberians here in the U.S. busied themselves with
plans and preparations for the celebration in observance of their independence
day last Friday, and through the weekend.
But many Liberians in Liberia are facing destitution, due to lack of
money and the lack of professional leadership.
What the Liberian President, George Weah should make a priority is the
criminalization of female genital mutilation (FGM), or as they refer to it,
female circumcision. Some Liberians here
in the Washington, D.C. area contended with warm temperature, and humidity at
their 16th Street and Colorado Avenue Embassy grounds in Northwest
Washington, garbed in colorful traditional attire.
It was difficult to miss the performance of the
cultural dancers, most especially the masked and grass skirted performers. It reminded some Liberians of their childhood
years in Liberia when the cultural and masked dancers went around from house to
house performing. They were some of the
most frightful sights for children at that age and during that time. One Liberian bystander said, “It terrified me
when I watched the masked and grass skirted dancer, who started off as a short
object on the ground, and suddenly it began to grow right before our eyes until
it was a nine-foot giant. It danced as
it kicked up dirt, spinning vigorously.”
That scary dancing masked object was referred to as the “devil”. Every Liberian child was fearful of the
so-called “devil”.
As a girl in Liberia embraces womanhood, she discovers
that female circumcision, the “devil” and the Poro and Sande Bush Societies are
all interconnected. The very “devil”
children so dread actually belongs to the GreGre (Grebo) Bush, where little
girls are taken to be circumcised (female genital mutilation).
Although some Liberian mothers only used the cultural
“devil” to frighten their children into being obedient, they would never turn
their girls over to the “devil” to have their genitals cut. However there are indeed some Liberian
mothers who actually take their daughters to the Sande Bush to have them
experience FGM.
So as Liberia proudly celebrated 172 years of being an
independent Republic, one wonders if the hundreds of circumcisers (cutters)
took a break from the Sande Bush of performing FGM last Friday and the
weekend. The children are out of school
during this time of the year; and that means it is high season for the Sande
Society Bush. Did they close down the
Sande Bush for a day to celebrate their independence last Friday? They probably did indeed break for the
celebrations; they became intoxicated, and returned to their blades this
week. After all, Friday was a national
holiday in Liberia. But did the women
miss a day of making their living? A
circumciser can earn up to Five Hundred U.S. Dollars a day, depending on the
number of girls she cuts.
Liberia is still one of three countries in Africa that
have remained stubborn to ban the practice of female genital mutilation. Something that is little known about the
practice of FGM in Liberia is that the people practicing it in that country
tend to hide behind tradition and culture.
The initial purpose very well might have been based on tradition and
culture; however tradition and culture have been overtaken by personal
sustainability and livelihood. Beside
the circumcisers making their living by brutally cutting innocent little girls,
the Liberian Legislature continues to uphold the legality of the practice of
FGM in that country. Organizations such
as Equality Now and Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation have been relentless in
urging the leaders of that country to ban the practice of FGM, to no avail.
The former Liberian President, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf
made a last minute decision almost two years ago to sign an Executive Order to
outlaw FGM. However that Executive Order
was only effective for twelve months from the time of her signature. It was entirely to the discretion of her
successor, George Weah to extend that Executive Order, and have his current
Legislature and Senate fully pass it into law.
Mr. Weah failed to extend that Executive Order, which expired more than
a year ago. He would need his heavily
populated Poro and Sande Society Legislature and Senate to pass the ban into
law. Keep in mind, it was the same
Legislature and Senate with whom Johnson-Sirleaf struggled, and was not
successful in getting the FGM bill passed during her administration. Mr. Weah, what are you doing about this
atrocious practice in your country? As
long as the Liberian Senate and Legislature are saturated with members of the
Poro and Sande Societies, it will always be a struggle, regardless of who sits
in the Presidential Mansion.
In addition to the economical purpose of the practice
of FGM, there is also the dark, demonic ritualistic practice which the Sande
and Poro Society Bushes carry out. There
is a far deeper meaning to the shedding of blood by the girls and the rituals
of what is done with the excised parts of the girls. This is why they do not want the girls to
divulge their experiences to anyone when they leave the Sande Bush. There is a great deal of deeply rooted
secrecy in the Sande Bush, which the Western World does not know, and those to
whom it is known do not understand.
A statement issued by the Liberian Associations around
the world to their President Weah, demanding the ban on the practice of FGM
would have been far more impressive during the Independence Day
celebrations. For some Liberians in the
diaspora, it was difficult to wholeheartedly celebrate the 172nd year of the
signing of their country’s Declaration of Independence. Why celebrate when little girls live in fear
of being cut in the Sande Bush? Why are
you celebrating when little girls are losing their trust in adults and their
leaders because they live in a country without a law that protects them against
FGM and other harmful cultural practices?
Why celebrate when many Liberian girls in puberty cannot afford a simple
thing like sanitary pads? Why are
Liberians celebrating when girls are subjected to sexual assault, hunger, child
marriage, child prostitution, female genital mutilation and a myriad of other
harmful practices in that country? Why
wasn’t Johnson-Sirleaf’s Executive Order extended and executed? Are there logical answers to these
questions? Does President Weah have the
answers to those questions?
This is an appeal to the Leadership of Liberia,
including George Weah, that they must seriously consider placing a ban on the
practice of FGM in that country.
Liberians have a traditional phrase they express to each other on their
day of independence. They say, “My 26 is
on you”, which indicates that they want a gift from you for their 26th
Day Independence. So as you recover from
your days of independence celebration, please think long and hard and consider
putting the safety of girls before the demonic practices in Liberia. Now, that is the 26th that is on
you, George Weah and the rest of the Liberian Leadership.
Your shopping makes a difference. Do your regular Amazon shopping at AmazonSmile and Amazon donates to Global Woman Peace Foundation.
In your charitable contributions and donations in 2019, please consider Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation by either through the DONATE BUTTON or by sending a check to Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation, 14001A Grumble Jones Court, Centreville, Virginia 20121. Your generous donations are tax deductible. Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation is a 501c3 nonprofit organization.
Do you enjoy playing with
words? This is a fun way to see how well
you can unscramble the following words.
We will reveal the unscrambled words in next week’s edition of the newsletter. If you enjoyed this, write and give us your
feedback to info@globalwomanpeacefoundation.org.
Can
you unscramble the following five words?
This Week’s Scrambled Words
AIRENIL
ECNEDNEPEDNI
OROP
DNA EDNAS (3 WORDS)
“LIVED”
HAEW
Last
Week’s Scrambled WordsLast Week’s Unscrambled Words
ODNOB
YTEICOS BONDO
SOCIETY
EDNAS
YTEICOS SANDE SOCIETY
SEOZ ZOES
NOISICMUCRIC CIRCUMCISION
YMOTCEDIROTILC CLITORIDECTOMY
We give you five scrambled words each week. We hope you enjoy playing.
Please note: The views in
the following article are entire personal views of the author, Mr. Charles
Massaquoi, and not the views of Global Woman Newsletter. In next week’s edition, Global Woman
Newsletter will issue a response to Mr. Massaquoi’s article.
By: Charles Massaquoi
The Sande or Bondo Society for girls is very popular
in West Africa. African historians believe the society originated among members
of the Gola tribe as an institution to train girls. Later, other Liberian
ethnic groups like the Vai, Mende, Lorma, Kpelle, Mano, Bassa, and Kissi
adopted the whole concept of the society.
This secret society is more than a training ground. It
maintains an interest in the well-being of its members throughout their lives.
The society champions their social and political interests and promotes the
solidarity of its members.
Liberia and Sierra Leone have played a vital role in
the training of young girls for future generations. For some parents, the
traditional school is the ideal place for these girls to acquire their
education. The training period lasts for six months to three years depending on
the country and the ethnic group. While enrolled in the Sande School, the girls
are taught many important subjects, such as the role of a wife, farming, sexual
matters, dancing, music, tie-dying cloth, and traditional medicine. Membership
in the Sande is a prestige for the young initiates because few opportunities
exist for women who have not been initiated.
I grew up in a family that strongly believes in this tradition.
In fact, my oldest sister Hawa acquired her education from the Sande School. It
was forbidden for a girl to marry before initiation. After the initiation, the
girls adopt Sande society names. The Clitoridectomy and labiadectomy are
performed by female specialists who are called Zoes.
Who is a good woman?
According to a popular school of thought in many
African communities, a “good” woman is someone who has graduated from the Sande
Society. She must be young and, most of all, a virgin. My sister met all of
these qualifications, but that was the 70’s and her dead husband Mr. Kaifa
Kamara was the lucky one. Marrying a young beautiful girl at the age of 18 was
not only a blessing for the entire family: parents were very proud of their
children who were trained by the Sande Society.
Most men in Sierra Leone and Liberia prefer to marry
women from the Sande Society. There is no doubt that the traditional school is
a good place to find a serious partner for the future. Research has shown that
the men who prefer Sande society graduates were serious about long-lasting
relationships.
The irony of the whole story is that most of these men
were in fact practicing what I would call a double standard. It was common to
see a man playing the role of a Casanova before getting married. For the girls
it was a taboo: all women are supposed to be virgins until the wedding
night. There is a crazy notion that
Africa is a male dominating continent. I do not share this view, because it is
misleading, and most of all, unfounded.
Must there be an end to the Sande society and its
practice in West Africa? I do not think so. Asking the Zoes to abandon this
age-old tradition is like telling someone to stop eating his or her favorite
meal. As long the Zoes live the organization will continue to influence the
role of women in West Africa.
The society symbolises the power of African women.
Though the wooden helmet masks that are used by the women are designed by men,
it represents the ideal of womanhood and feminine beauty. The dance and music are also vital in the
sense that young girls who graduated from the Sande Society ended up becoming
the best culture troupe dancers in West Africa. The artistic ability of these
girls is beyond imagination. African women are full of talents; the Sande
Society has helped these young girls to develop their God-giving talents.
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), or female
circumcision in popular-speak, and the Sande society go hand in hand. It is
difficult, if not impossible, to get rid of this time-tested tradition in
Africa. Female circumcision is practiced in many parts of Africa. Thirty
African countries still uphold the principles of FGM. Thousands of girls go
through this cruel ritual on a yearly basis. Over 90 million African women are
victims of female circumcision.
A human right violation
Human rights advocates from all parts of the world
have condemned the practice, because is a violation of the rights of women and
girls. Some efforts are being made to stop this tradition in Africa. African
countries such as Senegal, Uganda, Ghana, Ethiopia, and Togo have banned the
practice, along with many other nations.
Liberia, Mali and Sierra Leone remain the 3 African countries without
laws that ban the practice. In spite of
this progress, the fight against FGM is still raging because it will take a lot
more than just some countries to lessen the impact of FGM on such a big
continent.
The situation is even worse in a little country like
Sierra Leone. Every female teenager in the West African country is subjected to
female circumcision. The practice is sadly still legal in Sierra Leone.
Majority of the men in Sierra Leone are not willing to marry a woman who has
refused to join the Sande Society.
The World Health Organization (WHO), an organ of the
United Nations, has warned many nations about the risks of female circumcision.
In Sweden and many other countries in the world, it is not only wrong to
circumcise a female, legal action is taken against those who violate the law
banning the practice.
Female circumcision is not only a tradition; it is
today a source of income (especially for the Zoes). The more girls one
circumcises, the more money one makes.
However, we cannot underestimate the value of
education that the society imparts. The Sande or Bondo Society helps prepare
young girls for the future. The question
today is what kind of education these girls are getting?
Modern education prepares people to read and write. In
the Sande Society there is the opposite. I think the time has come to
re-examine the society’s role. I have relatives and friends who graduated from
the Sande Society who cannot read or write.
After the initiation, the girls are advised to get
married. For most of those who were undergoing regular schooling, marriage
prevents them from furthering their regular education. Without the proper
balanced education these females become powerless.
Today, many parents do not know where to draw the line
in the battle between traditional education and modern education. The question
thus remains, as to which school is the best and why? Should the Sande Society
combine both institutions of learning? Which age is the best? I mean when do
you begin? The answers to this
thought-provoking question will help all of us in the long run.
Female circumcision is a crime against humanity. The people of Africa cannot allow this act to continue. It must be stopped now. It is time to educate those who are still promoting female circumcision that they must be more concerned about the health of their daughters than satisfying the egos of men.
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Do you enjoy playing with
words? This is a fun way to see how well
you can unscramble the following words.
We will reveal the unscrambled words in next week’s edition of the
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you unscramble the following five words?
This Week’s Scrambled Words
ODNOB
YTEICOS (2 WORDS)
EDNAS
YTEICOS (2 WORDS)
SEOZ
NOISICMUCRIC
YMOTCEDIROTILC
Last
Week’s Scrambled WordsLast Week’s Unscrambled Words
SREETNULOV VOLUNTEERS
TTOIRRAM
LETOH MARRIOTT
HOTEL
RETSIGER
OT KLAW REGISTER
TO WALK
LANOITAN
LLAM NATIONAL
MALL
NIOJ
A MAET JOIN A TEAM
We give you five scrambled words each week. We hope you enjoy playing.
