This archive report was first published on 4 August 2019.
Published on August 4, 2019, by AFP
Sierra Leone's secret societies have been a part of the country's culture for centuries, but their initiation rituals often leave children with physical and emotional scars.
For eight-year-old Musu Kamara, the initiation into the Bondo society will be a two-week journey into the bush, where she and other girls will learn ritual dances, chants, and how to confront spirits.
However, the initiation also includes a painful and traumatic experience – female genital mutilation (FGM).
FGM is a practice found in many parts of Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, and it is increasingly being reviled. In Sierra Leone, more than 90 percent of the population is involved in ancestral and secret rites, with the Bondo and Poro societies playing a leading role in social, religious, and political life.
President Julius Maada Bio's government is facing a delicate balancing act in managing these influential organizations and their traditions. While the government has temporarily banned the societies and imposed new regulations, analysts see little impact.
However, the outcry against FGM is leading to change. A new type of ritual is emerging in the northern regions of Tonkolili and Port Loko, where girls are initiated by the Sowei – the head of a female secret society – but are not subjected to FGM.
This initiative was started by a Swiss aid worker, Michele Moreau, who joined the Bondo society in 2010 and took the name of Shema Roko. Since then, around 700 girls have been initiated in Tonkolili without undergoing FGM.
While some applaud this initiative as a way of enrolling secret societies into the fight to stamp out mutilation, others oppose it as disrespectful.
