The tears on Hadiza’s face had become so frequent that even the streaks began to seem like tribal marks on each side of her face, meeting at the confluence of her jaw before dropping in bits to the ground.
Deciding to take a break from reminiscing, she cast her gaze up and squinted at the sun that welcomed her vision. It was one of those days where the sun and rain were having a lovers’ feud with each battling for dominance. Alas! The sun claimed its victory and she also wished she had fought better for her pride.Nevertheless, what was a thorn in her flesh now was the incessant pain she was enduring in her private part, for she had been subjected to the barbaric female genital mutilation practice some days ago.
No female her age pursued activism on the girl-child like she did. Even when the claws of the terrorists were fast gripping the fabric of their education system, and the government contemplated depriving females of education, she joined the protest to stand against it. “Ya Yesu ka taimake ni” (Oh Jesus, help me), Hadiza prayed. She was slowly losing herself and nursing a hidden pain that was visible to even the blind.
Days passed and on one fateful day, she was visited by her teacher at home. Mrs. Usman came to check on her student following her absence from school. The reason for her absence had spread and some chuckled at the fall of the “teenage Moremi”.
Mrs. Usman hugged her instantly and for the first time in weeks, she felt whole. “Diza, what has happened to you is not the end of the world. It’s convenient to blame your parents for putting you at the receiving end of their ignorance but in reality, their backward beliefs pushed them. Now that this has happened, let’s push to stop this”. Hadiza replied softly, “it seems like a lost battle. This is a global issue, so how can we solve the problem from this village?”
“That is the beauty of enlightenment. You can’t do it alone but you can blow your horn so loudly that the neighboring clan hears it and the same tune is played everywhere till it becomes a jingle. You still need to heal and shake off the pain but be rest assured that you are coming out fueled with a greater passion”, she concluded.