Felix Nkambeh Tih
16 August 2016•Update: 17 August 2016
By Alpha Kamara
DAKAR, Senegal
Police in northern Sierra Leone have arrested three woman after a 19-year-old girl was found dead on Monday evening, thought to be the victim of a female genital mutilation (FGM) procedure.
The remains of former high-school pupil Fatmata Turay were discovered on Monday evening and remain at a regional government hospital.
Mathew Jabbie, northern region crime officer, told Anadolu Agency that three female suspects – including the girl’s mother and a nurse who secretly treated the teenager before she died – were among those detained.
Female genital mutilation or FGM is widespread in Sierra Leone especially among women outside of the capital, Freetown.
Women’s rights campaigner Mary Conteh says the issue is very sensitive and politicians are afraid to condemn it openly.
“Some women see the practice as cultural. Others, especially the FGM practitioners, see the cutting of girls as a means of livelihood because they collect money from the parents. So it’s difficult for it to be condemned openly, but women – especially girls – are really suffering from the practice,” Conteh said.
The Education Act of Sierra Leone, the law which protects the rights of children to education, is silent about FGM.
The law says “initiating” people below 18 and without their consent is a crime but rights groups say the word “initiation” is open to interpretation and wants the government to explicitly ban the practice.
FGM has been banned in Sierra Leone’s neighbors Senegal, Nigeria and Gambia, but as the constitution in being reviewed, Mary Conteh says banning the practice must form part of the discussion.
