Still thinking of one



PLEASE SEND ME YOUR MEANINGFUL CONTRIBUTIONS.THANKS. YOU NOTICED I HAVENT DECIDE ON A TOPIC YET.This is my module 3.It should be less than 700 words but what I have written is about 900.Still thinking of an attractive topic.



Despite public support for the banning of Female Genital Mutilation, commonly known as FGM in Africa and the rest of the world, millions of girls and young women still undergo this practice every year. My country Liberia is no exception.FGM according to a World Health Organization definition is a procedure which involves partial or total removal of external female genitalia for non medical reasons .It also involves removing and damaging healthy and normal female genital tissue and hence interfere with natural functions of girls and women bodies. Majority of women who undergo such harmful and inhumane practice are forced by their parents and or elders with some losing their lives while others are left to live with the health and traumatic effects, the rest of their lives. These are women who could have been Educators, Lawyers, Doctors, and Right Activists but have seen all hopes of a better future ruined because of such harmful practice.



As a young woman, I am of the opinion that this practice is out of age, inhumane and harmful and as such should be totally abolished. Our local leaders and elders who are suppose to be protecting the future generation have long been master minders of this act.FGM started when few men leaders thought women were nothing but sex partners and had no place in society but in the bedroom and the kitchen and to silence them the more and control them they created this ideology claiming it was part of their culture. For centuries they succeeded in carrying out this dehumanizing practice because women were illiterate and uneducated of the health implications of such practice. Now that the world has changed and is still changing, and studies have shown that FGM practice causes death, severe pain results, prolonged bleeding, infection, and more possibilities of attracting the HIV virus, infertility and maternal mortality and increase complication in child birth , I believe it is time we stop this practice.



According to the World Health Organization survey report, an estimated 92 million girls from 10 years of age and above have undergone FGM in Africa with 3 million at risk annually. With such statistic, you can agree with me that FGM is indeed rampant in Africa and my country Liberia is of no exception. According to reports the prevalence rate in Liberia is at 60% despite the fact that Liberia is among 48 countries to sign the international Zero Tolerance on FGM. According to survey conducted in 2007, approximately 70% of girls have undergone FGM in Liberia. According to the Director of Psychological Division at the Ministry of Health in Liberia, FGM is a violation of human rights of women as stipulated in Article 24.3 of Convention on the rights of the child which states “State parties should take all effective and appropriate measures with a view to abolishing traditional practices prejudicial to the health of children”.



FGM in Liberia is mainly carried out in the Sande school, a traditional school where girls are send to learn about their culture and which operates mainly in rural Liberia. While in the Sande bush girls miss out on a proper education and their genitals are mutilated .Most girls do not know what awaits them at the Sande bush because those who graduate are sworn to secrecy. Writing this article, I attempted asking girls about their ordeal at the Sande school but while most told me they attended the Sande school most of them were reluctant to explain their ordeal while at the school. FGM is mostly practiced in counties like Grand Bassa, Gbarpolu, Grand Cape Mount, Lofa and Bomi according to reports.



The long time argument for FGM is that it is a cultural practice handed down by ancestors. Others claim it discourages women from involving in illicit sexual acts and gets rid of body parts on the female that is considered male or unclean. Let me take tackle these arguments one at a time. The first one is that it is a cultural practice pass down from ancestors and cannot be abolished. Our ancestors started this practice in the 15th century or maybe further back. We are in the 21st century and the world is indeed changing. Back then our ancestors did not know the health implications of this practice but now that we know why then do we continue this practice? Some say it discourages illicit sexual practice. I believe if we were to focus more on giving a girl child an education that would solve the problem because With education come the sense of belonging, hopes of a brighter future, aspiration and the feeling of responsibility. What educated girl would want to engage in illicit sex activities to ruin her future? Still another argument is that FGM rids girls of unclean body parts. Who are we humans to determine if something is clean or unclean when God made everyone in his image and likeness?



I know you now agree with me that FGM must indeed be abolished because it offers more harm than good to girls. Although the President of Liberia has openly condemn this practice, I think it’s time we turn to another method which is making FGM a criminal offense as it represent a crime against humanity. With thousands of Liberian girls at risk of getting HIV, not getting a proper education, along with the sexual, physiological and psychiatric consequences every year what more proof do we need to show that FGM is indeed inhumane?

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