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THE BRUTAL CUT

The cutting season had dawned and the old woman, Namisi, picked up the razor blade from where she had left it after the eightieth season of the ritual, in the month of December. The new season, June, had ensued. The girls were lined up and led into the village centre to be ‘transformed’ into acceptable women; as said by the older women, in determination to lure them into their misery. The razor was not in good shape. Rust had formed on it, but Namisi could barely detect that state. In the queue, was a ten-year-old girl by the name Makala-the youngest. She seemed expectant for the ritual- with the desire to gratify her mother. Surprisingly, she had the image of a razor tattooed on her arm using red paint, as a symbol of transition. It is the lies they told her. Sadly, that was about to change. Her turn came to be cut and she was led to the hut. The woman held her head down firmly. She resisted when she saw the razor and dread engulfed her. It had a victim’s blood- who just had a convulsion due to blood poisoning. Namisi wiped the razor using her skirt and bent over to Makala, who was now horrified as tears rolled from her eyes. She called out, “Mama ! Niyungu maimanaiya?” which means, “Mother! Will I die?” Her mother looked at her with fear and pain. She could not assure her of life. Namisi opened up Makala’s legs and smeared yam flour on her clitoris in order to make it rigid. The razor was blunt, having been used on many victims that day. She held her clitoris and began cutting it out. With its bluntness, she could not save Makala from the excruciating pain. She let out a devastating cry, calling out to her mother to make it stop. Unfortunately for her, Namisi was set to cut out the whole clitoris. Blood surged out of her wound, and did not cease even when the women tried to block the flow using old rags. They sprinkled the traditional medicine, to no avail. The razor had pierced through the wrong artery, and she wailed bitterly until she stopped. Until her heart stopped beating. Namisi’s hands trembled and she shook in grief. She had just murdered an innocent girl with a brutal cut, with her razor blade.

102 Responses

  12. Gosh..that’s a sad one.It paints the picture of how many innocent girls dreadfully loss their lives,in my mind .This story depicts the unspoken reality behind the cut.So many lives have been lost and others ruined by this tradition .Over the years, it has proven beyond doubt that the cut brings no good but harm, so we need to abolish the tradition completely, educate one another and collaborate with everyone in the society–from the government, non-profit organisations to ordinary citizens, to fight this life-ruining cut.
    Nice work Purity.Continue with the spirit.

  15. Goodness,this just gave me a graphic imagery of how pathetic this is.Thankyou for this piece.No more to FGM.Together we end FGM.

  18. That’s really excruciating. let’s join hands against FGM and protect our women against this gruesome practice within some of our communities.

  23. I actually have a friend who is from a community with this culture. She has been longing to find solution to this nightmare. She and her family had to run and live far away from their community. It would be nice to help her fight this culture.

  27. Reason. There’s always a reason. But reason doesn’t always justify an action. No reason could justify the Brutal Cut. The Brutal Cut is reason in itself to put an end to it.
    Good piece.

  30. I heard some parents cross boarders, to Tanzania just to make sure that their kids undergo the cut because in kenya is illegal and “officers are on their neck.”

  31. If you legalize it like male circumcision, can we end death?
    In females you deploy trained personnel when circumcision season arrives.

  33. Refreher…
    ‘Namisi wiped the razor using her skirt and bent over to Makala,… ‘
    The reader feels the horror that the kid is experiencing. The way she narrates… Pastes everything in your head. Amazing. Like in his song zombies by cranberries.

  34. Never really understood the logic behind the act. How exactly is going through the cut a bridge to womanhood??!! As far as I’m concerned, FGM should be a tale of the past, and not a topic of discussion in this day and age. Nevertheless, great story Purity👏 amazing work. Thank you for reminding us to keep pushing till we bring this brutality to a complete end!❤️

    1. Very nice piece! Nakala is just among many young girls whose future have been robbed due to the cut. Collectively, let’s work together to stop #FGM.

  68. This practice is so outdated and has to be stopped. I found this to be really captivating but also extremely sad. Hope something is done to end this once and for all.

  70. How I wish that this information would reach to those still practicing FGM and open their eyes to the dangers that surrounds the practice and effects it has on women.
    Thank you for the story.

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