By Karifa Thoronka
Sowei is the women who hold the most senior rank in the bondo society, she is responsible for the initiation ceremony of girls.
Isatu Adama Sesay was unhappy with attempts to force her to become sowei after initiating her into bondo society unwillingly. When she goes to bed at night, she is scared of going to sleep. She fears members of the secret societies are going to break into her room with the consent of her parents and kidnap her.
Isatu Sesay has good reason to be afraid. She has already fled her village Tombo to avoid becoming sowei, relating to one 17 years old girl Isata Sesay who lost her life during initiation ceremony in Tombo village in 2009. “I am not safe in this house. I’m not safe in this community,” she said. “I am afraid, when I lie down to sleep, that one day they will grab me, tie me up and take me to that place.” She is referring to the “Bondo” bush, an area of secluded forest where FGM takes place.
‘To abandon the practice is seeing it as an attack on our culture, which is rooted in ancient rituals designed to protect the community against evil spirits and regulate the passage of adolescents to womanhood’ says the village chief.
On 3rd March 2024, a group of soko men raided some houses in Pepel village in search of Isatu Adama Sesay who is said to be a runaway Sowei initiate. In the process, the Soko men burned down a house whose owner was suspected of hiding Isatu Adama Sesay. In an exclusive interview with one Fatmata Conteh, she said that the husband of Isatu Adama Sesay is missing, and revealed that the husband Momoh Mansaray was severely beaten and must have been abducted by the Soko men.
She further by noting that the Soko men are demanding Isatu Adama Sesay to surrender herself to the Chief Sowei before Momoh Mansaray can be released to the family, Police succeeded in negotiating his release but declined to press charges for fear of aggravating the local traditional leaders. The manhunt for Isatu Adama Sesay is intensifying as the Soko men are determined to find and bring Isatu and have her complete the Sowei ritual by participating in the FGM process.
Traditional practitioners of female genital mutilation have established deep roots in Sierra Leonean culture and politics, creating a culture of fear among young women and posing a major obstacle to opponents of the custom
