Forum Against Harmful Practices (FAHP)
Press Release
13th July, 2021
The attention of Forum Against Harmful Practices (FAHP) is being drawn to an AYV NEWS video making the rounds on social media, wherein, Members of Parliament, Paramount Chiefs and Sowei Council Executive Members appear to speak strongly in support of the continuation of the harmful traditional practice of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) of girls in the guise of supporting the Women Bondo Society.
The support of this cruel and inhumane treatment of women and girls is being justified in the video clip on the grounds of “Bondo is our culture.”
As a Coalition we want to draw the attention of the Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL) and its development partners that our campaign is not against the traditions and culture of the Bondo
Society, but rather against FGM/C as a practice within the Bondo Society which is a violation of the human rights of women and girls.
It is worth noting that, the National Strategy for the Reduction of FGM/C calls for abolition of FGM/C, not the Bondo Society – the Government of Sierra Leone commits to “uphold the noble values of the Institution of Bondo AND recognize that the practice of FGM/C is a health burden and a violation of the human rights of children and women”.
We in the Coalition maintain that FGM/C does not equate to Bondo, and that Bondo is not all about FGM/C. As such we are shocked at the statements in the video clip made by a female Parliamentarian and Traditional Rulers about the importance of the Bondo without addressing the issue of FGM/C.
FAHP wants to remind our duty-bearers of their broader mandate and higher responsibility to protect the rights of all their constituents and subjects to life, to good health and opportunity to better themselves.
Our work over the years with communities including elected officials and traditional leaders has shown that it is possible to maintain the Bondo culture without FGM/C.
The Bondo Society can still serve as a place where women come for training, empowerment, sisterhood, and entertainment without the excising of genitals. We suggest the only reason the Sowei Council has been imposed by non-members is to exploit and divide women.
FAHP understands that the Ministry of Gender and Children’s Affairs & UNICEF Sierra Leone plans to revise the Child Rights Act 2007 to insert an ‘age of consent ‘provision that would make it illegal to ‘initiate’ girls( i.e. aged 18 and under) into the Bondo Society.
FAHP affirms that current law in force in Sierra Leone provides that where FGM/C is perpetrated on any person, without their express, free and informed consent, it is a serious Crime under existing statute law (see the Offences Against the Persons Act 1881 and the Common Law).
Every and any act of FGM/C done WITHOUT express, free and informed consent is a crime. Girls, being children below 18, CANNOT by law consent to any serious harm against themselves including FGM/C. FGM/C on an adult without her express, free and informed consent is unlawful. So too is FGM/C on a child who CANNOT by law consent and does not, in fact, know or understand enough to consent to being hurt and harmed. Thus, any act of FGM/C on a child in Sierra Leone today is already unlawful and a crime punishable by law, now and always.
FAHP, therefore, urges that any proposed revision of the current law should be to support and strengthen ENFORCEMENT of existing laws against FGM/C of girls.
Again, the GoSL has ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), and Maputo Protocol which recognise FGM/C as a harmful practice which is a human rights violation against girls and women. Thus, the duty to effectively address FGM/C as a harmful practice remains a core government obligation and responsibility under these Conventions.
In conclusion, Forum Against Harmful Practices (FAHP) reiterates its belief that Consent cannot be ‘free, full and informed with regards to a harmful practice’ and as such we continue to encourage the Ministry of Gender & Children’s Affairs to not only intensify the fight to change the social and cultural conventions that perpetuate FGM/C as a part of the Bondo Society, but also to spearhead development and implementation of a national program to eliminate the practice of FGM/C from all aspects of life of Sierra Leonean women & girls.
Rugiatu Neneh Koroma (Nee Turay)
Chairperson- FAHP
Organizations:
Cc:
The Minister for Gender and Children’s Affairs The Clerk of the House of Parliament- Sierra Leone The Parliamentary Anti FGM Committee
The Female Parliamentary Caucus
The Parliamentary Health Committee
The Parliamentary Gender Committee
The Minister of Information and Communications
The Minister of Health and Sanitation
The Minister of Local Government and Rural Development
The Attorney General and Minister of Justice
The Minister of Political and Public Affairs
The Inspector General- Sierra Leone Police
The Human Rights Commission
All Political Parties
APPA
Coalition of Political Parties
The President- Inter Religious Council
The Chairman- National Council of Paramount Chiefs Office of the First Lady
Irish Aid
UNICEF
UNFPA
UN Women
UN Resident Coordinator US Embassy
EU
DFID
British High Commission German Embassy Amnesty International Media Houses
