FGM victim: Many still don’t realise secretive practice is illegal here

 
“Naive”: Sarian Karim Kamara
Anna Davis @_annadavis7 August 2014

A woman who was subjected to female genital mutilation when she was 11 years old said many victims are unaware the “secretive” practice is illegal.

Sarian Karim Kamara said she was initially excited to take part in the “Bondo” ritual in her homeland of Sierra Leone, where FGM is viewed as a girl’s initiation into womanhood.

But the 36-year-old, who now lives in Peckham, said she had been “naive” and was left with complications when she gave birth later in life.

Ms Kamara, a mother of five children including four girls, welcomed the increase in FGM cases being investigated by some police forces.

But she added: “We should not forget this is a very secretive act and it’s often underground.

“For the police to be investigating these cases, it shows lots of people are aware now and people working with women and children are confident to ask questions. If the prosecutions came it would be a good thing, but we want education.

“The fact people are realising how bad the practice is and its effect on girls and women like me, it’s a positive thing. It’s going to take time.”

Ms Kamara, who works with Forward UK, a charity promoting the rights of African girls and women, was in labour for four days with her first child due to complications caused by FGM.

She was among 15 young girls to be “initiated” in Sierra Leone after being promised new clothes and gifts.

Describing her “traumatic” ordeal, Ms Kamara said: “When we got to the bush, I was blindfolded. I was taken into a separate room and pinned down.

“I was so young and naive that I did not know exactly what was removed until I was an adult.”

She said the practice had been passed on from “generation to generation”, adding: “People who are doing it to their children believe they are doing it for the right reasons. Most cannot read or write so they don’t know it’s against the law here.

“It’s very important to point it out to them and let them know there is help if they find themselves being pressured by their family or the community.”

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