The Amazonian Initiative Movement (AIM) Sierra Leone on Monday 26th May, 2025, at the WFP conference hall in Port Loko has trained members of the Parliamentary Press Gallery of Sierra Leone, on Bondo and Female Gentile Mutilation (FGM), the interactive training session was for the Parliamentary Press Gallery Journalists to the Female Gentile Mutilation and the differences between Bondo. The training session also capture sensitive topics such as understanding at the alternative Blood Right of Passage. The training also aimed at equipping journalists with the knowledge and tools to advocate effectively against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in the country.
During the training session The Executive Director of AIM Madam Rugiatu Neneh Turay, said the AIM’s engagement with Press Gallery Journalist was for the Journalists to see that AIM’s Focus is to protect women and girls from violence and harms. Noting that, Aim wants the Journalists to understand the issues of Female Gentile Mutilation (FGM) and look deeply to see how they as journalists can play their own role to educate public on FGM. She noted that AIM focus is also to reintroduce the training and rebranding of Bondo Society through signs languages and remove the harmful practices and discrimination of Bondo Society.
Nenneh Turay thanked journalists for taking time out of their busy schedules to attend the crucial training. She expressed hope that participants would use their media platforms to call for an end to FGM.
“Culture is a way of life accepted by the people,” she said. “But we must ask ourselves: is FGM truly a part of our culture, or a harmful practice disguised as tradition?”
Madam Turay criticized and frowned at how some Members of Parliament have used traditional secret societies to deflect attention from FGM during debates on the proposed Child Rights Act. “Our focus is mainly on the Bondo society because we cannot run away from the truth,” she stated.
She emphasized the severe health risks associated with FGM, particularly the cutting of the clitoris, and lamented that the practice has become generational. Drawing historical comparisons, she noted that Bondo initiations were once about empowering adult women, as practiced by figures like Mammy Yoko, who focused on training for marriageability rather than physical mutilation.
“Today, young girls are subjected to harmful practices in the name of tradition,” she said. “Mammy Yoko never cut clitorises. She even showcased Bondo culture to white tourists for its beauty, not its violence.”
Madam Turay clarified that AIM Sierra Leone is not against culture or the Bondo society itself, but against the harmful act of cutting. “We want to restore the original purpose of Bondo to provide education and unity for women, not harm,” she emphasized.
