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FGM survivor urges Sierra Leone to enforce ECOWAS court ruling banning practice

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A survivor of female genital mutilation (FGM) in Sierra Leone on Tuesday called on President Julius Maada Bio’s government to enforce a West African court ruling that ordered the country to outlaw the practice.

Khadija Baliama Allieu, from Kenema district in the east, told reporters she was abducted, beaten and cut during an initiation into the Bondo secret society, which promotes FGM as a rite of passage for girls.

“I was blindfolded, beaten and held down while a sowei sat on my chest. My clitoris was brutally cut, leaving me bleeding and fighting for my life,” Allieu said at a press conference in Freetown organised by women’s rights groups Purposeful and the Forum Against Harmful Practices (FAHP).

With support from activists, she sued the government at the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court, which ruled in her favour earlier this year, finding Sierra Leone had failed to protect women and girls from violence linked to FGM.

“There are many Khadijas across Sierra Leone suffering in silence,” she said. “No girl should go through what I went through.”

Sierra Leone has no law explicitly banning FGM, though the government has pledged to reduce the practice, which remains widespread despite a slow decline. According to the 2019 Demographic and Health Survey, 83% of women aged 15 to 49 had undergone FGM, down from 90% in 2013.

Activists say FGM, performed by traditional cutters known as soweis, has caused injuries and deaths during Bondo initiations, particularly in rural areas. The World Health Organization says the practice has no health benefits and can lead to heavy bleeding, infection, infertility and complications during childbirth.

Rugiatu Neneh Turay Koroma, chair of FAHP, called Allieu’s ordeal “inhumane and degrading” and urged lawmakers to criminalise FGM. “Almost all districts have reported FGM-related deaths,” she said. “We cannot continue to sacrifice our daughters in the name of tradition.”

Josephine Kamara, an advocacy manager at Purposeful, said Allieu’s case was “a test of Sierra Leone’s commitment to protecting women and girls”.

Allieu vowed to campaign against FGM nationwide. “My fight is for every girl in Sierra Leone,” she said.

By Feima Sesay

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