I remember…
The glint of steel,
The slow carving,
The searing tear
of delicate flesh,
The muffled screams
afraid of hard knocks.
They said that the marks of our elders was our pride. They were a proof of our purity and sacred standing. Our mothers had worn their marks, and they had no issues. At least, my mother birthed me with ease – so I was told.
I couldn’t really fathom the pride in having gleaming steel slice into the forbidden place. I couldn’t really see the pride in mother’s silence and steely face as I was placed on the sacrificial slab. The flickering atupa was more concerned about shedding light over the contours of my little body, than it was about revealing the lingering silhouette that was my mother. She watched.
Each strike of the blade sent piercing hot tingles through my body. My legs jerked vehemently against their oppressors. My arms flung wildly in the cropped space between the slab and the vile hands that held me down. My lips desperately communicated the horrors stinging below my abdomen. But I was never heard. My eyes? They fluttered in and out of pitch blackness. There was solace in its voice. It’s cool embrace was the antidote to my heating body. I gave in.
It’s been decades since I was given my mark. Yet it feels like yesterday. Every incision reminds me of the gleaming steel. Every month relives the horrors of the bloody markers. The men in white have spoken my fate long ago.
I remember… The slice of fear gnawing at the corners of my husband’s eyes. Like a boiling pot with an unyielding lid, he said said nothing. Nothing besides a single sigh that spoke all he never could said. I watched as my mother did; silent and steely, even as the colors drained from his eyes. On the night when lovers bloomed, I was left with a husk of love once ablaze.
-
Oluwadamisi Salem
26 Responses
This is amazing
This is so creative
I wish more people can see this and put an end to this sometimes lifelong trauma for a mentally healthy society of our women.
Very descriptive writeup thanks for this.
I love it🥺
Hmm, this is creepy and interesting.
Colourful use of words painting a telling story.
God…
This is so raw
The imagery was clear and so much was said with so little
Big ups to the writer!
#endfgm
Wow, beautiful piece
Beautiful!
Visceral. Well done.
Scary and inhumane!
It’s the apt descriptions for me. Amazing piece!
A beautiful read! I was intrigued right from the beginning to the end.
Wow what a nice write up
The amount of imagery in this is so excessive yet so precise!..👌🏾👌🏾👌🏾..💯💯💯! Good one, Salem!
Hmm… and some people still believe FGM is “beneficial” in this day and age? God forbid
No one should have to suffer this. #endfgm
#endfgm
Well done on the story
Wow🥺😲 this amazing
Well-done boss
God help us… It’s a sad reality
This is actually real. #endfgm
Good story #endfgm
Save our girls. #endfgm
This is a sad story brother… Let’s end fgm
This is really good, nice one