A traditional sowei, Marie Tholley, appeared in Moyamba Magistrate Court this week, answering charges that she subjected a 13-year-old girl to female genital mutilation (FGM) during initiation into the Bondo society. Tholley admitted under oath to carrying out the procedure—with the grandmother’s consent—shining a disturbing light on Sierra Leone’s entrenched FGM epidemic.
The case brings renewed urgency to the staggering statistic that an estimated 83% of women and girls aged 15–49 in Sierra Leone have undergone FGM, according to UNICEF data. 
The trial unfolds in the wake of a landmark decision from the ECOWAS Court of Justice, which ruled weeks ago that Sierra Leone’s failure to explicitly criminalize FGM breached regional human rights obligations—especially those protecting women and children. The court demanded that the government adopt clear legislation outlawing all forms of FGM. 
Despite this international pressure, the Bio administration’s response has been widely criticized as slow and insufficient. Advocacy groups contrast Sierra Leone’s limited action with The Gambia, where authorities swiftly prosecuted FGM offenders following similar tragedies. 
Campaigners are now demanding that the existing Child Rights Bill be pulled from consideration, amended, and reintroduced with a non-negotiable clause explicitly banning child FGM—an urgent reform they argue is long overdue. 
As Marie Tholley faces justice, the broader question remains: will Sierra Leone finally act to protect its most vulnerable, or will its government’s inertia continue to enable a harmful tradition deeply embedded in pain and patriarchy?
By Joseph Turay
