Hawa Ali was only five when she and three other girls were circumcised.
“We were woken up very early by a group of women. My mother was there, too. They were very rough with us. One of the women performed firauni,” the 45-year-old mother of five says, recalling the day she was circumcised.
Unlike in other communities, where the cut is considered a rite of passage from girlhood to womanhood, and therefore a cause for celebration, Hawa’s cutting went unnoticed by all except for the women in the household and the neighbourhood.
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The Somali practise different types of Firauni infibulation. According to Somali oral history, this type of cutting originated from Egypt and spread into Somalia, Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia and other countries, where this type of cutting is common.
Young girls in Mt Elgon undergo an FGM ceremony /FILE
These are Faadumo — the partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia minora, sometimes done with or without the excision of the labia majora. (The labia are the lips that surround the vagina).
Hostaguden
is another form of excision, where the vagina opening is narrowed through the use of a covering seal by cutting and repositioning the inner labia with or without cutting the clitoris. The labia majora stays normal.
Kurs is the most common and extreme form of infibulation, where the clitoris is removed and both the inner and outer labia are stitched together, leaving a small opening for menstrual/urine flow.
In many instances, thorns or stitches are used to hold together the two sides of the labia, and the legs are bound to prevent movement for up to 40 days.
Only a small opening is left to allow urine and menstrual fluids to exit, and often this is created after the fact, with a small twig or straw causes
vaginal obstruction that can result in accumulation of menstrual flow in the vagina and uterus. Sexual intercourse is excruciatingly painful and in most cases, childbirth can be fatal.
The sunna (clitoridectomy) involves removal of the prepuce (the fold of skin surrounding the clitoris) with or without partial or total excision of the clitoris (a small, sensitive and erectile part of the female genitals).
NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE
Young girls in Mt Elgon undergo an FGM ceremony /FILE
Hawa nearly died due to excessive bleeding. She is unwilling to talk about the trauma she went through on her wedding night, which was done in accordance with the Somali customs and traditions.
On the eve of her wedding, she was physically examined to ensure that the vagina was still stitched, as this is proof that she was a virgin. After the wedding night, the bedclothes were checked for blood to confirm the breaking of the seal. Only then was her mother presented with gifts and accolades for raising her daughter well.
Since her marriage, Hawa has borne five children, two of them through excruciatingly painful vaginal births while the other three were through Ceaserean Section.
To date, she still suffers medical problems, which she attributes to the firauni
cut she underwent, as well as the multiple C-Sections she has had.
When asked why she underwent the cut, Hawa says its a cultural belief handed down over the generations. She said a Somali woman is considered clean and beautiful only after the removal of body parts that are considered unclean. It’s also believed that the cut ensures premarital virginity and marital fidelity, as it reduces a woman’s libido and helps her resist extramarital sex.
The Somali society also believes that when the girl is circumcised, she will not bring any shame to the family by having babies out of wedlock.
Sheikh Abdikadir Ali Mumin, 45, an imam at the mosque in Eastliegh, says the tradition has no roots in any religion, not even in Islam. He said that he has been preaching against the practice for the last three years now, hoping to educate the 500 members who attend the mosque every day to understand that circumcising women is not a religious tenet. “All scholars of Islam agree that FGM is prohibited,” he said. “That’s why I’m proud as a father that I have never practised this FGM. It is harmful. In Islam, there is a principle that says whatever is harmful, is prohibited,” says Sheikh Mumin.
Mohamed Moulid, a community elder in Eastleigh, is full of remorse every time he has to watch his daughter suffer through painful cramps during her menstrual period.
“Her menstrual cramps last longer and she experience more pain and can’t even afford to do her daily work,” he says.
He told me he had no say when several of his female relatives and his wife went ahead to have his daughter undergo the operation. He is now working hard to ensure that no any other girl endures the same pain as his daughter by talking to parents to stop the practice.
SURVIVOR’S VOW
Habiba Hussein, 25, a mother of one son, says she is even scared to ever give birth again because of the pain she underwent during delivery.
“I was sewed, and even right now I’m feeling uncomfortable about it. I had difficulties because it was a long and difficult labour because of the cut. I wish l knew,” she says, adding, “I will not let this happen to my daughter.”