WUNRN
UNFPA:
United Nations Population Fund
BREAST IRONING
"Before
this breast band, my mother used the grinding stone—heated in the fire—to
massage my chest. Every night my mother examines my chest (and) massages
me, sometimes with the pestle," Matia adds. "Although I cry hard
because of the pain, she tells me: 'Endure, my daughter; you are young and
there is no point in having breasts at your age'."
Josaine
Matia, 11 years old
Yaounde,
Cameroon
What
is Breast Ironing?
Breast
ironing is a traditional practice that involves massaging or pressing the
breasts of adolescent girls in order to suppress and reverse their development.
The rationale is to prevent girls from developing breasts in the belief that a
flat, child-like chest will discourage unwanted male attention, rape and
pre-marital pregnancy.
Breast
ironing is a well-kept secret between the young girl and her mother. Often the
father remains completely unaware. The girl believes that what her mother is
doing is for her own good and keeps silent. This silence perpetuates the
practice and all of its consequences.Breast ‘ironing’ involves massaging the
growing breasts of young girls in order to make them disappear, usually by
using a stone, a hammer or a spatula that has been heated over coals.
Proponents say
they do this to discourage male interference in young girls, to prevent girls
themselves from pursuing men, to discourage girls from engaging in sexual
intercourse at a very young age and to reduce the risk of pregnancy. Because
the topic of sex is taboo, young girls remain ignorant of how
to protect themselves from sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy. Young
people make up most of the 5.5 per cent of the population living with
HIV, and teenage pregnancy is a growing concern—thus increasing reliance on
breast ironing to deter sexual activity.
Proponents
also argue that discouraging male attention will ensure that the girl’s studies
will not be interrupted.
Prevalence
- Breast
ironing appears to be most widely-practiced in Cameroon.
It's more common in the
Christian and animist south of the country than the Muslim north, where
only 10 per cent of women are affected.
- It
also occurs in Guinea-Bissau, West
and Central Africa, including Chad,
Togo, Benin,
Guinea-Conakry.
- Some 24 per cent of girls in Cameroon,
about one girl in four, undergo breast ironing.
- Breast ironing occurs
extensively in the 10 provinces throughout Cameroon.
- A sample survey published in
January 2006 of 5000 girls and women aged between 10 and 82 in Cameroon,
estimates that 4 million women had suffered the process.
- Today, 3.8
million teenagers are threatened with the practice.
- Up
to 53 per cent of women and girls interviewed in the coastal Littoral
province in the southeast, where the country's main port, Douala,
is situated,
admit to having had their breasts 'ironed'.
- More than half (58 per cent) of
cases breast ironing were undertaken by mothers. Other relatives also
participate.
Health and Socio-Economic Implications
- Breast ironing is terribly
painful and violates a young girl’s physical integrity.
- Breast ironing exposes girls to
numerous health problems such as abscesses, itching, discharge of milk,
infection, dissymmetry of the breasts, cysts, breast infections, severe
fever, tissue damage and even the complete
disappearance of one or both breasts.
- This
painful form of mutilation could not only have negative health
consequences for the girls, but often proves futile when it comes to
deterring teenage sexual activity.
Response
- The Network of Aunties
Association, RENATA, made up of members who have undergone the practice
are drawing public attention to the psychological trauma and other ensuing
health risks in order to protect young girls from this form of bodily
mutilation.
- RENATA has produced radio and
television spots, and several radio and television journalists have joined
in spreading information about breast ironing. Leaflets and calendars
outlining the types of objects used in breast ironing, the extent of the
practice and its consequences have also been produced.
Recommendations
- Governments in affected
countries should raise public awareness of the dangers of breast ironing
and why it needs to be stopped. Awareness raising should also include
frank discussions of sexuality. Unfortunately, it is very difficult for
many parents to talk to their children about sex owing to modesty or for
cultural reasons. Some expert theorize that parents prefer instead, to rid
their children of the bodily signs of puberty in order to avoid
potentially embarrassing discussions. The onset of adolescence, however,
is exactly the right time to start such dialogues.
- Prosecution
of perpetrators.
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