When I first heard about the pounding and ironing of breasts, I thought it was the most absurd thing that could ever happen. Apparently, it is common practice in Cameroon where mothers pound and iron the developing breast of their daughters upon reaching puberty with hot objects to make them disappear.
The reason? Without any breast, the girls will be protected from the sexual advances of boys and men who see the development of a breast as the signature tune for sexual activity. It is also to prevent rape and early marriage.
Instruments used in pounding and ironing the breasts include grinding stones, wooden pestles used for pounding, heated bananas and heated coconut shells.
Reports : A BBC news report on the issue cited one lady who recounted how her mother warmed a pestle well in fire and then used it to open her breast while she lay down. After the pounding, “she took the back of the coconut, warmed it in the fire and used it to iron the breast”
A BBC news report on the issue cited one lady who recounted how her mother warmed a pestle well in fire and then used it to open her breast while she lay down. After the pounding, “she took the back of the coconut, warmed it in the fire and used it to iron the breast”
“I was crying and trembling to escape but there was no way” she told the BBC.
Interestingly, the mothers who carry out such acts find everything right with it. One mother conceded in the report that “breast ironing is not a new thing. I am happy I protected my daughter. I could not stand the thought of boys spoiling her with sex before she completed school”.
But is breast pounding and ironing the antidotes to preventing early sexual activity? I have seen a number of sexually active young girls who have nothing to show chest-wise.
It’s amazing that such acts are targeted at only young girls what about young boys who also practice early sexual activity. Must we pound their scrotal sacs for instance?
This for me is just one of those outmoded cultural practices that young girls, widows and women in general continue to suffer.
What happens to the breast tissues that are damaged in the process and are not allowed to grow normally? Is this form of abuse necessary? Although not much research has been carried out to know the health effects of the practice, it is believed that there could be possible side effects such as breast infections, abscesses, badly formed breasts or even breast cancer not to talk about the difficulties a victim of such a practice would go through during breastfeeding.
This, together with other known forms of gender-based violence has affected the smooth development of many women.
This reminds me of the painful era of female genital mutilation where young children or even matured women suffer the partial or total removal of the external part of the genitals.
Also known as female circumcision, FGM comes in about six different forms with the most common being the excision of the clitoris and labia minora.
Reasons cited for the performance of FGM could be cultural, religious or health but the fundamental reason is to reduce or eliminate the sensitive tissue-the outer part of the genitatria, particulary the clitoris so as to control the victim’s sexual desire, maintain chastity and virginity before marriage and ensure fidelity and increased male sexual pleasure in marriage.
FGM is widely practised in Africa and Ghana has only recently abolished the practice made it criminal.
Health-wise, FGM is performed because the external genitalia are considered dirty and unsightly and so its removal according to practitioners is to promote hygiene and provide aesthetic appeal.
Ironically, in spite of these health concerns, instruments used are generally crude and done without anesthetic application.
Figures: Current, WHO figures estimate that between 100 and 140 million girls and women have till date undergone FGM with another two million at risk of going through the practice. In Ghana, the practice of FGM was common in the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions.
Current, WHO figures estimate that between 100 and 140 million girls and women have till date undergone FGM with another two million at risk of going through the practice. In Ghana, the practice of FGM was common in the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions.
Trokosi: It took NGOs like International Needs to draw attention to the practice of ritual servitude or Trokosi in Ghana.
It took NGOs like International Needs to draw attention to the practice of ritual servitude or Trokosi in Ghana.
Practised mostly in the Volta Region a woman is made to serve as a trokosi (literally mean “the wife of the gods” and is a local ewe word)
According to history, the practice has lasted about 300 years. In it, if someone commits a serious crime, a young girl in that family is sent to the shrine on the orders of the traditional leaders as a form of attonement. It is also practised in parts of Benin, Togo and Nigeria.
During this atoning period, she serves the priest for between three to five years after which she could be redeemed. Apart from working for these priests without being paid and sometimes without food, the young girls also serve as sexual partners for the priests.
In 1998, Ghana’s parliament passed a law to ban all forms of ritualized forced labour and through the efforts of International Needs, Ghana, over 3,000 trokosi women and children have been liberated and given vocational training to learn skills such as soap and pomade making, baking, hairdressing and batik making.
In countries like Pakistan and India, family honour killings are also some of the abuses women undergo for being women. They are killed for not paying the right dowry to marry their husband or for many other reasons such as falling in love with someone the family does not approve of.
The United Nation estimate that every year, 5000 women fall victim to honour killings (The killing of a female member for perceived misuse of her sexuality)
A story is told in the Sindh Province of Pakistan of a young man who held of a 11-year old girl’s hand during a dance at a wedding reception. Although she quickly withdrew her hand, her male relatives saw the exchange and later killed her in the name of family honour.
There are other forms of gender based violence like forced marriages, sex selective abortions, dowry murders and physical battery.
Women themselves play key roles in the penetrating of such acts against their fellow women; it is important that they are made to know how harmful their actions are not only to the victims but also towards the fight to stop violence against women.
It is difficult convincing society that we are not our own enemies when they always see women in the forefront of executing such inhumane practice.
Gender based violence is bad enough and nobody must be made to suffer for being a particular sex. Voices must sound in one chorus to eliminate all forms of such violent acts.
Today, it maybe just some woman suffering such crude practices, but tomorrow it could be your sister, mother, wife or daughter. Stand up and let your voice be heard.
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