Samba
Bah, deputy governor of Upper River Region –URR- has said that culture and
tradition that affect the wellbeing of people with health complications should
be stopped in the country, arguing that the deeply rooted traditional practices
of FGM/C should be completely eradicated.
“Collectively,
we should stand together in ensuring that our girl child are not subjected to
this ‘harmful’ practices which has health complications. The practice has serious
complications for sexual and reproductive health of our girl child,” Mr Bah
said.
Speaking
on day two of Women Bureau’s ongoing information sharing sensitisation outreach
in Basse that brought together women leaders across the region, Mr bah said
such sensitisation outreaches within the rural part of the country are
important as it will go a long way towards eradicating the menace in the
society. The information sharing outreach is funded by UNICEF.
“At
first, I feel so nervous talking about the issues of FGM/C but now am
comfortable to discuss it with people. In fact, it should be the responsibility
of everybody to come out and discourage people from practicing it.”
He
revealed that a case of early marriage was reported to the office of the
governor, adding that these are something that are rampant within our
communities, hence it is everyone’s responsibility particularly parents in
ensuring that FGM/C, early marriage among others are stamped out in our
societies.
Lamin
K Saidy, child rights activist at Child Protection Alliance (CPA) said the
risks children faced regarding FGM/C, physical and humiliating punishment,
rape, child abuse among others pertaining issues affecting children is as
result of lack of dialogue between parents and their children.
Mr
Saidy alluded that it’s because of the lack of discussions between parents and
children on the respect for the views as a child, something he described as a
serious issue in the country. Children, he added, are not given the chance to
express their concerns including the decision making process.
“We’re
in a society where many parents will not want to engage their children into
discussions because of cultural barriers for the fact that many parents term it
as ‘disrespectful’ to have their children present during gathering.”
Some
parents, the CPA Child Rights Activist said, feel even nervous to discuss sex
and sexuality with their children. “Parents sometimes are victims of sexuality
and therefore do not have enough information to give to their children leading
to a society where children end up risking their lives due to lack of
knowledge.”
For
her part, Ajaratou Neneh Darboe former Lady Councilor in URR and a participant
said it is of ‘paramount’ for people to be aware of the complications that are
involved in the deeply rooted cultural and traditional practice.