Families of Two-Year-Old Reacts to Human Right Activist
Threat hangs over life of Magdalene Sambo Konneh
Families of the two-year-old toddler who died during initiation into the Bondo Society have reacted angrily to Sierra Leonean human rights activist based in Sydney, Australia, Magdalene Sambo Konneh, based on her statement to few days back.
Magdalene Konneh who has been advocating against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and calling on the Sierra Leone police and other authorities concerned to take punitive action against the culprits is now seen as a bad influence.
On March 13th, a case about a 2-year-old toddler was reported. The two-year-old was found dead in a female secret society bush (Bondo bush) in Waterloo, in the Western Rural District.
The discovery was made by Police Constable, David Aiah Sorie, who intercepted a secret procession of a bunch of female authorities belonging to the ‘Bondo Secret Society’.
Right activist, Magdalene, was shocked to have read about the initiation of the underage girl after series of advocacies against the practice, especially the initiation of underage girls like the toddler who died while going through the painful process of cutting.
The activist, at the time called on the government to take action against the culprits and to punish the perpetrators. Despite this call nothing has been done and that those arrested were released without any charge.
Families of the toddler who died while going through the initiation are now sending threatening remarks to activists including Magdalene Konneh that they will deal with her if she ever shows up in the country.
“This so called Magdalene is making all sorts of statement because she stay overseas. Let her come and make such statement if she believes in what she is doing. The Bondo society is our culture anybody who interferes into what we do will not live to see the next day, Mammy Sento, family initiator remarked.”
Magdalene, we know your kind. You have collected donor money and the reason why you are making all sort of statements, she said.’
Magdalene who called on government the last time to put laws in place that would punish these perpetrators, remains disappointed. Though the government now has the sexual offences act and the Gender Equality and Women Empowerment Act, yet initiation of children remains a challenge.
Bundo Secret Society is mainly practised by female and it involves the cutting of female genital parts, a practice that has been widely condemned by right activist.
With these threats hanging over human right activist like Magdalene Konneh, advocating for the elimination of Female Genital Mutilation remains a challenge.
