In her message to mark the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation in February, Adama Sam, an official in the Ministry of Health and Sanitation in Tonkolili District in Northern Sierra Leone, noted that FGM is mostly perpetuated against children who do not give consent.
“When girls are cut, they face the immediate risk of hemorrhagic shock ranging from serious injury to infections and even death if these situations are not well managed,” the health official in Sierra Leone said.
She added, “The psychological impact of FGM can be devastating and long-lasting especially on girls who mostly feel deeply betrayed by their parents who insisted they be subjected to FGM.”
The government official noted that in young children, the loss of trust and confidence that comes with FGM can lead to behavioral problems alongside psychological pain.
“As girls grow up and marry, the sexual dysfunction caused by FGM may put stress on their marriages,” she said, adding that over time, FGM can leave serious psychological scars.
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In his message at the February celebration, Fr. Konteh noted that FGM, which he said “comprises all procedures that involve altering or injuring the female genitalia for non-medical reasons” is recognized internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and women.
The practice, the member of Clergy of Caritas Freetown said, “reflects deep-rooted inequality between the sexes, and constitutes an extreme form of discrimination against women and girls.”
Describing the nature of DFF-SL, the award-winning Catholic Priest said that the organization was founded by a group of socially committed individuals “in their pursuit of a better life for poor children and social development for the most marginal and deprived communities in Sierra Leone.”
“The purpose of Desert Flower Foundation-SL, which is ‘Save a Little Desert Flower’ is to facilitate independent living and sustainable development among the population DFF-SL serves. This is due to the high level of FGM,” Fr. Konteh said, adding that the goal of the foundation is to offer education through Access, Advocating and Awareness in Sierra Leone for women and girls to be resilient.
DFF-SL works to empower the most marginalized and deprived communities living in the rural and urban areas of Sierra Leone.
The Catholic Priest who is the charity foundation’s President said that the entity has signed sponsorship contracts with parents of the 1,500 girls enrolled in its programs.
The contract, Fr. Konteh explained, guarantees the integrity of the girls who are periodically checked by a pediatrician to ensure that they have not undertaken the cut.
Furthermore, he said, “the girls are to attend school and the parents have the obligation to participate in educational programs and workshops organized by the foundation to help build the capacity and awareness of the parents.”
“With sponsorship from the Desert Flower Foundation, the project supports the families of the beneficiaries with monthly funds to take care of their education, medical services and school materials,” Fr. Konteh said.
In the November 11 interview with ACI Africa, Wuyatta said that DFF-SLL had distinguished itself from other FGM interventions in the country through providing alternatives to families that think that FGM is the only way for their children.
“When we started our project, parents told us that they didn’t have resources to take their children to school, and that FGM was to prepare them for marriage. We offered them scholarships to fill this gap,” she said.
Wutatta added, “Not many organizations working to end FGM have taken this approach. Many hardly go beyond the awareness campaigns on radio and on social media platforms. Here, we offer a holistic approach in the care of the hundreds of girls enrolled in our program.”
The DFF-SL official said that targeting families is the foundation’s strategy to break the cycle of FGM
“We talk to parents knowing that the buck stops with them. Some parents force their daughters to undergo FGM because their own parents didn’t protect them against the practice as well. A child whose parents don’t allow FGM can’t allow it on their own children. This is how we intend to put a stop to this culture of FGM,” she told ACI Africa.
DFF-SL has established four schools in Freetown and also has branches across the West African country where the girls enrolled in its program are visited quarterly to undergo the health checks, and to receive provisions for school.
In the DFF-SL schools, girls and vulnerable women who did not have an opportunity to complete school also enroll for technical and vocational training to gain employable skills.
Though DFF-SL has warmed the hearts of many Sierra Leoneans, including women who Wuyatta says “carried heavy pain in their hearts” after they were forced to undergo FGM, the beginning was not rosy for the foundation.
“When we started in 2014, we were not received kindly. Crowds nearly beat us up in Newton and the women angrily stood up, threatening to leave. I earnestly shared my story with them and the regrets I had for accepting to be cut, and slowly, they started listening to us,” Wuyatta said.
She added, “Families now more willing and ready to talk about FGM issues. They turn up in our campaigns and you can see that they have had bottled-up grievances against FGM for decades. Some share their experiences while crying. Many say that they will never allow their children to undergo the practice again.”
The DFF-SL official, however, admitted that FGM is a difficult, saying, “It isn’t a fight that is ending tomorrow. All our efforts are being countered. A few months ago, we visited a school, and in our campaigns, we told the girls that they wouldn’t get any certificate to show that they had undergone FGM for them to get jobs or any opportunities in life. Later, we came across certificates that the chiefs were awarding the girls who had been cut.”
She decried the lack of goodwill from the Sierra Leonean government to end FGM in the country, noting that some politicians were openly supporting the vice.
“If the government wanted this practice to end, it would definitely end even now. But no laws have been passed to forbid FGM,” she said, and added, “Politicians use it as a campaign tool. Recently, a politician went to one of the communities and while appealing to be voted for in next year’s elections, he promised to sponsor 200 girls to undergo FGM. It is an open practice and chiefs are now working with the secret societies to award certificates to girls who undergo it.”
All the challenges notwithstanding, DFF-SL is planning to expand by establishing more schools across the countries where Christian values will be taught to boys and girls admitted in the schools, in a way to phase out retrogressive practices such as FGM.
The foundation is also planning to create opportunities for more girls, Wuyatta said told ACI Africa during the November 11 interview.
She added, “At the moment, we have secured scholarships and all forms of help for 1,500 girls who are enrolled in our program. We are also supporting their families in various ways. But we have a bigger number that would wish to be enrolled in our program. We want to do more but the lack of funds stands in the way.”
This story was first published by ACI Africa on 18 November 2022.
Agnes Aineah is a Kenyan journalist with a background in digital and newspaper reporting. She holds a Master of Arts in Digital Journalism from the Aga Khan University, Graduate School of Media and Communications and a Bachelor's Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communications from Kenya's Moi University. Agnes currently serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.
