This Was Our World

Being the only girl in the family, her father really loved her. She was not only beautiful but also clever. She made us laugh with the way she used to compete with her brothers in almost everything, she was a very joyful and everyone loved her. It always made her father happy just to see his only daughter smile.

As Mary turned 5 years, the age that most parents consider to be the right time to go to school. Her parents saw her mad at first, how could a girl like her go to school and the way her parents had seen money and wealth coming their way? they told her that they would take her to a nice school when she was 10 years of age. Since she knew nothing she just agreed. Her parents loved her but at the same time, they could not break the laws of the community. 

It was the circumcision period for the women, and Mary had to go through the knife whether she liked it or not. Mary did not understand what all the singing was for. She assumed maybe there was a celebration. The girl was supposed to be taken deep in the night when everybody was asleep. Her mother wept the whole night imagining what might happen to her daughter. It was so bad for her that she had to go and sleep with her daughter before she was taken away.

In the middle of the night, rustling was heard outside the house. Mary’s mom panicked because she knew what was going to happen next. Shouting women could be heard, Mary woke up with startled.

The door was suddenly opened and the women got in, Mary screamed, if she only knew what was going to happen next………

The women grabbed her and took her forcefully because she tried to resist. Her mother had teary eyes because there is nothing she could do. Mary was taken deep into the night into the forest. She was shocked to see she was not the only person crying. There were some other girls too and thanks to the moonlight she saw and recognized some of them.” hey? what are we doing here? “but before she was answered, a woman shushed them and told them they were not supposed to talk, it made more scared. “It’s now time taken off all your clothes so that we can do what our community wants us to do and be, “she roared. Mary sensed danger but since she was a weakling, she had no obligation. They sat down in a row………the first girl screamed…then the second….it was now her turn. Mary screamed even before she was touched. She felt a piercing pain passing through her body. she passed out.

Mary’s story is an example of pain many African girls are obliged to pass through. They have to go through the pain so as to accomplish their ‘role ‘as women. We don’t see the effects until much later. Is that being fair to our girls and women? What are we doing about it as a community? Let us think about being fair to our women because they also have rights. Fight for the girl child fight for our country fight for equality among all.