Breast Ironing ~ Female Mutilation At Puberty Is Just Wrong!

This is just so wrong, it must be stopped.

 

It is possible, just possible, that the male mutilation known as circumcision can be justified on religious/cleanliness grounds. The same cannot be said for female mutilation done at puberty. 

"According to 2021 research published by the United States’ National Institutes of Health (NIH), the harmful practice is typically carried out by close female relatives, and sometimes with the help of traditional midwives. It is maintained in secret by female members of the family and community, and typically hidden from men.

Traditional and household tools are usually used to perform the procedure, including grinding stones, cast iron, coconut shells, calabashes, hammers, sticks or spatulas. Additionally, it can involve tightly wrapping the breasts with a belt or cloth, the NIH said." (ALJAZEERA)

A stick used for breast ironing is seen on a fire at a survivor’s home in Cameroon [File: Joe Penney/Reuters]

 When I first came to the Philippines, I contracted measles. As I had had them as a child, I was somewhat surprised. I was even more surprised when I found out that according to Philippine folk medicine, I couldn't bath because it would drive the spots into/under my skin. After two days of misery, I got my wife and mother-inlaw to accompany me to the doctor, where it was explained that I could indeed take showers. After thirty plus years, I look back now, and I get a chuckle over this indoctrination to Pinoy folklore.

Not so for the sufferers of female mutilation. They suffer for a lifetime. Call me a cultural colonizer if you will, but this practice is an obscenity. An evil obscenity. With the best of intentions, they do the worst deeds. 

Bringer Of the Gentle Wind