Bondo, a secret female society that demands the cutting of the female organ is widely practiced in Sierra Leone West Africa even though it has been criticized by many human rights activists describing it as cruel. The incident which occurred on 5th October 2020 has sent tongues wagging as to how a certain section of society could be so cruel to their children. Successive governments have always remained silent over the act describing it as a sensitive issue thus leaving the practicing widely carried out across the country.
Jariatu Rubiatu Koroma was born on 27th October 1998 at Tokeh to a very traditional family whose belief for tradition is second tom none Age 22, Jariatu is the latest young woman who had to escape from the hands of the initiators for fear of her life against the inhuman forceful act. Fleeing to unknown whereabouts is the only means to save herself from this practice where young girls sometimes lose their lives in the bush during the cutting of the genital. Reports gathered by this medium indicate that the life of Jariatu has been under serious threat for some years now as she had no option but the flee to unknown whereabouts but that has still not stopped the Initiators from searching for her location.
This medium also gathered that the practice also demands blood from the initiates which is normally used as a sacrifice by the ‘SOWEIS’, traditionally haggard looking old women who carry out the act and the home of Jariatu has been frequented by these women with threats made to her family members to either produce her or be ready to face the consequences. The worst thing is that those who perform his act always go free when arrested by the police and other law enforcement agencies because these authorities are also part of the society and would dare not prosecute these culprits.Many a time young girls in this part of the world face the risk of being initiated to satisfy society’s demand or as a requirement for inheritance.
Jariatu being born in Tokeh in the Western Rural of the Country exposes her more to the risk of being initiated as most of her peers have gone through the practice with horrendous stories of the process. Jariatu’s case is of special concern to the initiators because she is the eldest daughter of the family and to benefit from certain rights she has to undergo ‘Bondo’ rite secret society which according to many of her colleagues have gone through with terrible reflections.
Her mother was one of the strongest advocates for the ‘Bondo’ Society and she held a very senior position which Jariatu now has been told to inherit by family members. So since then the ‘SOWEIS’ have been searching for Jariatu Koroma to the point of arresting her friend, a member of the “Bondo’ secret society whom they accused of discussing the cruelty of the practice to Jariatu and they have vowed not to release her until she produces Jariatu the fact is that girls who have gone through this initiation process complain of health complications and do not normally have safer births.
