To celebrate my 50 years of age, my husband and I took a trip to my village. As we drove into my hometown, Aroro village, in the heart of Ibadan, Nigeria, memories of my childhood returned to me. Many things had changed but not the Saint David Anglican Church, it stood tall as always. Eateries and fanciful homes now littered the places which used to be wastelands and deserted farmlands, it had indeed become civilised.
Our driver took a left turn by the satchet water factory, what wasleft of what used to be one rather, then something caught my eye- it was the delapidated house of our alage (our community ‘cutter’). This was the house where we were made women. It was a place of great fear. Every year, we had all female children take turns to go and get initiated, some parents gave permissions while others did not give their consent before girls were dragged in. It was a law and it superceded our feelings, womanhood was pain and we all had to experience it. I remember my mother crying along with me as I was being dragged by the young men of our community. How I loathed womanhood!
I took my eyes off the building as I muttered words of prayers for all the girls who died after the initiation. I wondered if there was a new building for it. I had spent so much time outside the country writing against the practise of female genital mutilation but I was yet to check back to see if my own community had changed. I had hoped to but I had not had time to come.
As our car moved forward, we saw a billboard which read “SAY NO TO FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION”, underneath these big bold letters was the phone number to contact when there were suspected cases. That was not all, the billboard was signed by the Baale, our community head. I looked at my husband and he squeezed my hands, he understood how much it meant to me that my community was taking steps. He knew how hard I had tried to fight against mutilation, how much I wanted the female child to know womanhood was not to be entered through pain, blades and blood. The rate of the female circumcision had reduced globally and I am grateful that my community is not left out. Goodbye Blades!