Country Specific Information on
FGM in Sierra-Leone
Länderinformation über FGM: Sierra-Leone
Summarized by Mariatu Rohde
General Information
The population is made up of about 20 ethnic groups, the largest groups being the Mende and Temne. The predominant religions are that of Christianity and Muslim followed by Traditional African beliefs. Since the start of the rebel war in 1991, two million people have fled the country. Valuable information is given in the following tables using mainly the source: POPIN: United Nations Population Information Network.
Country Information
Country |
27650 sq. km |
GNP per capita |
US$ 200 |
Main Languages |
English (official), Creole, Temne, Mende |
Main Ethnic Groups |
Temne, Mende, Creole, Limba, Lokko, Kono, Sherbro, Fullah, Soussou, |
Main Religions |
Christian, Muslim, Traditional African |
Socio-Demographic Profile: Population
Mid-year Total Population 1998 |
4.6 millions |
Mid-year Total Population 2025 |
8.2 millions |
Annual Growth Rate |
1.9% |
Urban Population |
36% |
Fertility and Contraception
Crude birth rate* |
36 |
Total Fertility Rate** |
6.5 |
Women aged 15-19 giving live births each year |
21% |
**Sum of the age-specific fertility rates in a given year.
Mortality
Crude Death Rate* |
30 |
Average Life expectancy in years (men) |
33 |
Average Life expectancy in years (women) |
36 |
Infant Mortality Rate** |
195 |
Maternal Mortality Rate*** |
800 |
** Number of deaths to infants under one year of age per 1,000 live births in a given year.
***Number of deaths to women due to pregnancy or childbearing complications per 100,000 live births in a given year.
Health
Access to Services |
38% |
Access to safe water |
34% |
Literacy Rate (men) |
45% |
Literacy Rate (women) |
15% |
Workforce (men) |
32% |
Workforce (women) |
68% |
II: FGM Related Country Information
Prevalence, Type & Terms for FGM inSierra-Leone
Prevalence |
Type |
Language |
Translation |
Meaning |
90% |
Type II Excision |
Temne, Limba
Mende Sherbro
Soussou Mandingo |
Bondo*
Sowie**
|
Initiation/training as an integral part of transition into adulthood.
Participants are considered initiated once they have been circumcised. |
Powerful women’s secret societies that promotes and carry out traditional genital cutting.
FGM and Anti - FGM Organizations and Movements
1984:
Sierra Leone Association on Women's Welfare (National Chapter of the IAC) was set up to advocate against FGM and eradicate the practice.
Other active Anti - FGM NGO`s:
Movement for the Eradication of FGM, Canaan Christian Fellowship Fund, Plan International.
August 1996:
Anti - FGM campaign organised by the influential Bundo elite.
January 1997:
600 girls were reportedly subjected to FGM in a displaced people's camp near Freetown.
July 1997:
Major Johnny Paul Koroma, Sierra then military ruler, publicly pledged his support for FGM.
Special Studies in Sierra Leone
Essential results of a Sierra Leone study in 1985 were:
- 97 % of 269 interviewed women experiencing intense pain during and after FGM.
- 13 % went into shock.
- Wound infection and tetanus were very common.
A survey in a clinic outside Freetown showed:
- Of 100 girls who had FGM, 1 died.
- 12 required hospitalization.
- Of the 12 hospitalized: 10 suffered from bleeding, 5 from tetanus.
- Tetanus is fatal in 50 to 60 percent of all cases.
Remark: The very severe problem of AIDS was not considered in this study.
Anti-FGM Campaign Success Stories
Sowies from the Mende tribe, like the Digbas from the Temne tribe, are leaders of the Secret Societies of Women. They are believed to have power to invoke ancestral spirits and knowledgeable in the art of using
medicinal herbs. They are also traditional birth attendants who perform female circumcision. According to the Sierra-Leone Anti - FGM activist, Dr. Olayinka Koso Thomas, initially, Sowies were
resistant to participate in any program organized by a group whose members were not initiated into the Secret Societies. However, contact with the head of Western Sierra Leone Sowies, facilitated presentation of an
educational program on the health hazards of FGM. This head subsequently attended the 1990 IAC Regional Conference, where she heard testimonies from former circumcisers who had found new occupations.
On her return, she designed a project to provide skills acquisition to 20 Sowies who would agree to lay down the knife and educate 6000 Secret Societies initiaters on the dangers of female circumcision.
Interest was so great that 38 Sowies were enrolled in a two-week training in soap making, bread making, cloth dying, organization and management of petty trading business, marketing and sales,
simple business management, accounting, and savings.
Main sources: New York Times, JAN. 13, 1997.
Inter African Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children. Newsletter, April, 1995
Zusammenfassung in Deutsch
Länderinformation über FGM: Sierra-Leone
Die Zahl der Opfer von FGM wird auf etwa 90% der weiblichen Bevölkerung geschätzt, d. h. in Sierra Leone gibt es etwa 2 Millionen FGM Opfer.
Art & wo FGM praktiziert wird:
Typ II: Exzision:
Bei allen ethnischen Gruppen, außer den Kreolen in der Hauptstadt Freetown.
Sie wird von den Bondo - Frauen, einer Geheimgesellschaft, die von Geheimnissen und
Tabus umgeben ist, auf traditionellen Plätzen in einem streng ritualisierten Zusammenhang praktiziert. Die Mitgliedschaft wird Mädchen verliehen, an denen die FGM durchgeführt wird.
Nichtmitglieder werden als Ausgestoßene betrachtet.
Furcht umgibt die Praktiken der FGM, und jene, die die Geheimgesellschaften kritisieren, erhalten Todesdrohungen.
Auch Mord kommt bei diesen harten Auseinandersetzungen vor.
Politik, Kampagnen:
Im August 1996 starteten Befürworter der FGM eine Offensive, die von Mitgliedern der einflußreichen Elite und des Bondo Bundes unterstützt wurden.
Im Januar 1997 wurden laut Berichten 600 Mädchen in einem Vertriebenenlager in der Nähe von Freetown Opfer der FGM. Im Mai 1997 kam an Major Johnny Paul Koroma als Militärbefehlshaber von Sierra Leone nach
einem Militärputsch an die Macht. Im Juli 1997 versicherte er, Befürwortern der FGM, daß er sie und andere traditionelle Praktiken unterstütze.
Anti-FGM Organisationen und Maßnahmen:
Die nationale Abteilung der IAC, die Sierra Leone Association on Women`s Welfare, wurde 1984 gegründet. Sie setzt sich für Aufklärung über die FGM und die Verabschiedung von Gesetzen zur Abschaffung dieses Brauchs ein.
Nichtstaatliche Anti - FGM Organisationen in Sierra Leone sind
(NGO‘s: Non-Government Organisations):
Gesetzgebung über FGM in Sierra Leone:
Es gibt kein Gesetz.
Liebe Leserin, lieber Leser
Sie werden sich fragen, warum ich diese FGM Infos gerade über Sierra Leone gebe?
Nun, ich bin in Sierra Leone aufgewachsen und habe die FGM Traditionen in Sierra Leone und die harten Auseinandersetzungen darüber über Jahrzehnte mit vom Herzen kommenden Interesse verfolgt.
Ich meine auch, daß die hier dargestellte Lage über FGM in Sierra Leone durchaus Modellcharakter hat für die Anti - und Pro - FGM Kampagnen in vielen anderen afrikanischen Ländern.
Außerdem fühle und denke ich, daß die allgemeine politische Situation, der menschenverachtende Bürgerkrieg und die Lage der Menschen in Sierra Leone nicht entscheidend besser ist als in Afghanistan.
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