Writing for Rights: Alfred, 16, Sierra Leone
Dear Friends,
My name is Alfred – 16 years old. I am a member of the Mattru Jong Kids Club in Sierra Leone. It is with heavy heart that I write to articulate an entitlement that children in Sierra Leone have been robbed of for ages.
Let us remember the girls who have been made to suffer for the rest of their lives through FGM and join hands together to stop those who are at risk of going through FGM.
It may sound interesting to hear a male voice angered by child female genital mutilation (FGM), which mainly affects girls in Sierra Leone. To all of you reading this piece, may I ask you to please pause for a minute and pray for all those girls who have died whilst going through FGM – may their souls rest in peace, amen.
I am angered because they are my sisters, because they deserve dignity, because they deserve to remain complete, because they are made vulnerable, and because I want to be a voice for them.
According to tradition, FGM is an acceptable practice that over 95 per cent of rural girls may need to go through in order to be accepted in society. It prepares girls to be ready for marriage and reduces promiscuity among them.
However, at the end of the day, it is the parents who benefit from the process as they receive a bride price for their girls who have gone through FGM at the expense of their education. These girls end up dropping out of school, become pregnant, and some die during child birth.
This process puts girls into pain forever.
As we celebrate the Convention on the Rights of the Child, let us remember the girls who have been made to suffer for the rest of their lives through FGM and join hands together to stop those who are at risk of going through FGM. I hereby call on the government of Sierra Leone to put an end to the pain of our girls by legislating against FGM and to follow the good example of other countries where the dignity of girls has remained complete.
It is only with this that my anger and the anger of many other children can be turned into forever happiness.
Thank you,
Alfred, 16-years-old, Sierra Leone