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The Indelible Taint

“Why do you always lie motionless whenever we are communing together sexually”? Abikes’ husband of barely three months asked her before he resignedly collapsed on the bed out of frustration beside her, feeling emasculated. “Do you not enjoy it…are you firewood..”? He had borne her lackadaisical attitude towards intercourse right from their marriage inception and could contain it no longer.
“Tunde”, she replied emotionally, “I don’t mean to hurt your feelings but it’s not my fault, I don’t feel any sensations when we are doing it, matter of fact I honestly don’t feel excited about doing it with you”. “Why is that”? Tunde asked…”am I not attractive enough for you”? Abike burst into a paroxysm of hot tears as she rehashed to Tundes’ hearing the ‘inauguration’ into womanhood that occurred during her adolescent years. “My husband”, she said, “I remember it like yesterday, they convocated excitedly, torches in their hands, they, the supposed carriers of the milk of human kindness in their bosoms, the physical representations of motherhood, yet so vile, so villainy in their approaches towards me. I felt sold out, betrayed by my parents. How could they agree to what was to befall me?!
I was placed arms tied behind my back, gagged, on a wooden platform, pinned as if thrown to the skewers. They chanted tribal songs hailing my imminent transition to womanhood, then I was cut.
It was a cut that injected thorough anguish, I felt my soul exiting this plane. She paused.
I revived to see wicked smiles beaming at me”.
“You are now a woman, you won’t be promiscuous, your child won’t die upon touching your clitoris”, their leader remarked. “Trepidation, feelings of being ‘half’, have ticked the days, and indeed years that escorted that incident”, she said sorrowfully.
“I have vowed to not allow what happened to me to repeat itself in the lives of any girl children we will have together. My child’s genitalia, her nature given instrument for pleasure and procreation, would not smell filthy and cruel blades. I plan to increase advocacy against the FGM band wagon ritual, so that in the near future, FGM would be deemed a worthless venture”, she concluded.
“Hmmmm”, Tunde sighed while beckoning her to his arms, “what an experience, we will work at ameliorating this together”, he said reassuringly.
THE END

107 Responses

  19. Imagine the ridiculous remark by the leader; so female circumcision prevents promiscuity and infant mortality! Stop infant mortality, it’s a brutalizing experience. I can’t imagine the horror

  22. A precise short story. Female Circumcision or Female Genital Mutilation is a Cultural Practice which reeks of backwardness and illeteracy. It does more evil than good and must be discouraged.

    1. “It’s the person that wear the shoe that knows how tight it is”, Abike had experienced FGM and so took a stand to prevent her children from going through similar experience. Put a halt to FGM#

  26. For none medical reasons Abikes genitalia was removed and the effect was her dead hormone. The girl child ought to be protected from harm, #End FGM

  27. Research says FGM is prevalent in the East and West of Nigeria; I look forward to a time where circumcision of the girl child won’t be heard of. God help us

  28. Research says FGM is prevalent in the East and West of Nigeria; I look forward to a time where circumcision of the girl child won’t be heard of. God help us

  29. You’re now a woman, because of circumcision? Women go through a lot, Female Genital Mutilation is a crime; The earlier it’s recognized as such, the better!

  30. This is a very heart rending tale. It is most unfortunate. Dispossessing the young wife of her most alluring and most prized possession. It’s like drawing the substance away and leaving her with shaft to take to her husband. What wickedness! It’s surely a barbaric tradition that should be stopped at all cost. Imagine the physical pain and irredeemable damage. Mother’s rethink. Stop this senseless torturing of the girl child now.

  31. An amazing story of human callousness and depravity all in the name of tradition. It’s barbaric, it’s retrogressive. It’s retarding. This is an evil and backward tradition and should be discouraged in every society of well meaning people globally.

  40. This is a story that whips up sincere sympathy because of the disadvantages that accrue to exercising female genital mutilation on the girl child, as there are no merits in the practice. It must be stopped.

  43. So what if Abike had an illiterate or insensitive husband who could not empathize with her and appreciate the trauma exerted on her in her adolescent years? That means her marriage could have become non- existential because of the misplaced beliefs as to the ‘good’ that female genital mutilation enables. This practice must be discarded.

  44. Frigidity is one of the many demerits of female genital cutting or mutilation. It damages a woman’s sexuality. It should be spoken against so we don’t have in our hands a collection of unwholesome girls. Lovely story!

  45. Parents have a duty to protect their girls mental and physical health. We must not take this duty lightly and gamble with the future of our girls by indulging in practices that can damage them for life, such is what the practice of FGM is capable of doing.

  47. This is an unhealthy tradition in some parts of Africa. The notion that it is a rite of passage to womanhood should be erased. That is not what makes a girl to become a woman. Welldone Divine!

  48. I felt horrible at the part where Abike was cut. I can imagine the betrayal she must have felt towards her parents who were supposed to protect her sexuality, but instead permitted illiterate women to scar their daughter for life. It’s sad!

  49. I prefer to join the campaign of right thinking and literate individuals to clamour against the rite of female genital mutilation, no matter the appeal it may have to some persons who engage in it. What is appealing about interfering with the completeness of a girls genitals? I wonder.

  50. Even though I’m in the accounting science sphere and don’t really have the flair for reading stories, but this short story is one I can appreciate. The pain, the horror of the FGM ritual….I don’t wish it on my enemy.

  51. Promiscuity is not solved by female genital mutilation or by compromising the sanctity of the girl child’s genitals. That notion is borne out of illiteracy. Nice read!

  52. We must offer support and emotional reassurance to victims of female genital mutilation known to us, like Tunde did. It aids the process of healing, just knowing that someone out there understands what they have gone through and is willing to be patient with them.

  53. I am happy that illumination is being spread on the dangers of female genital mutilation through story telling. I like your story. It magnifies the clarion call against the harmful practice. Kudos Divine!

  58. A sad story, I’m relieved her husband stood by her….indeed we should intensify efforts like this to educate the ignorant about the pitfalls that surround female genital mutilation.

  59. It’s an interesting read. As humans, we have the quality of thinking and rationality. As such, we must scrutinize cultures, or so called rituals, by asking if it is purposeful, necessary or justifiable? We must not jump in on a ritual because everyone else is doing it. We must lend our voices against this practice.

  60. Welldone Divine. The dangers of Female genital mutilation are real, and not imaginary. Scars are inflicted not just on the genitals of female children, but on their emotions and their minds.

  63. Female circumcision is not laudable. It is something we must stomp our feet against. It is awful and indicates barbarism. I enjoyed the short read.

  64. The story conveys a message about the harsh effects of performing female genital mutilation on the girl child. The effects range from frigidity, to the risk of death from excessive bleeding, contracting VVF etc, as well as damage to the psyche. It must be stopped.

  70. Hmmm…what a sordid experience. There are still so many like Abike, billed to undergo her fate, we must continue the spread of the word against FGM practice.

  72. Prenatal death is not caused by a female being uncircumcised,and the foetus touching her clitoris, these are notions that should be discarded and overall, the practice should be shunned by all and sundry.

  74. Our girl children look up to us to know and do what’s good for them. But female genital mutilation does not qualify as ‘good’. Let us not fail our girls because it begins with us to do what’s right before educating others. I enjoyed the short story, Divine.

  76. Female genital mutilation is an unhealthy/unhygienic ritual. The usage of unsterilized instruments can transmit infections to the girl child, and cause problems for her. It should be halted and eschewed.

  81. Thank you so much, for this beautiful piece ma’am. It is quite tragic that, because of the dictates of some backward and barbaric body of customs and traditions, the beauty and perfection of a woman’s body is tampered with, by people who don’t even possess a basic understanding of the human body. The woman is not a thing, she’s not a tool to be subjected to such traumatic experiences, she’s God’s perfect creation and should be treated with the utmost respect and honour, anything short of this is a disservice to modern society. FGM is pure evil and should be stopped.

  82. I feel for Abike…unfortunately, there are many more like her whose parents will subject them to pain and torture from instruments all in the name of obeying rites or culture. I look forward to a time when Female Genital Mutilation will be totally erased and become obsolete. Nice read.

  83. This kind of experience and the aftermath of not being interested in sexual intercourse, can make Abike bear grudges against her parents for life. Parents, be careful, protect your girl children.

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