You are currently viewing Groups that support FGM fight back on the Media, in Kenema, Sierra Leone

Groups that support FGM fight back on the Media, in Kenema, Sierra Leone

Team Kenema report on their Easter media campaign to help end FGM in Kenema, Sierra Leone.

People that engaged are:

  1. Mr. Manna BRIMA – Community Chief
  2. Hawa Jalloh – PRO of women development in Tongo
  3. Nancy Kamanda – Student of HRSS Kenema
  4. Abdul Martin Amara – journalist

The reason why we used these people is that the whole community is center around them. Like the chief, they have leadership over the community where the social initiatives take place.

The women are engaged in the act, and the female students are the peoples that undergo the practices of FGM and the journalist help in disseminating the information to the general public.

Our challenges:

Any time we go on media the Sowies in Kenema will react to the
message that we disseminate to the general public, about the
practice of FGM. They go on media to tell people that not to listen to us.

The media outlets:

Kamboi Agriculture Radio Fm 92.5 Kenema
Gola Agriculture Radio Fm 100.3. These two radio programs hit an audience of 25,000 and that all the one-hour radio program was well appreciated by both texters and callers, and urging the Kenema team to be conducting similar sensitization programs on monthly basis.

Success:

It was educative that many people called to talk to us about this issue and sent text messages.

It also exposed the danger of cutting during the initiation period.
The strong message that came out of the media project was the danger behind the practice of FGM and the reasons why they should stop the cutting during initiation.

What we would do differently if we are to carry this activity again are
as follows:

  1. We will involve religious leaders
  2. We will extend sensitization out of Kenema city
  3. We will have a workshop with the sowies ( the leaders of the
    bondo society)

Supported by Culture of Resistance

Sierre Leone activists have had a struggle with little funding, a US foundation Culture of Resistance stepped into the breach at Easter, funding all 5 key media campaigns that ran over Easter. While on the border of Guinea and Sierra Leone on the Tano River region preparations are underway there to extend the media campaign work.

Ruth Harley

Ruth Harley is working with GMC as a Website News Editor, compiling stories written by End FGM campaigners working with the Global Media Campaign to End FGM across Africa. Alongside this work, she is running The Women’s Vinyl Project which empowers women and girls through singing and music and is helping to end FGM.