As the mangoes watched…
IWD Special
As she held yet another dead child in her hands, cheeks sore from the hit she had just received — “I can’t believe I married a witch. You can never do anything right”- tears streaming down her face and eyes red from rage and hurt, a blend so powerful, it could destroy a man, she pressed her legs together, a futile attempt to numb the pain.
After over two hours of excruciating labour, even the midwives were exhausted.
She had gotten used to the look; that look of pity, mixed with a hint of disgust. “I wonder what she does with her children”.
Everything seemed like a blur to her now. Her husband had gone to God-knows-where after raining insults on her. She could only imagine the conversation between him and his mother in her absence. The midwives had cleaned up and left as well. Everyone had gone to face their own lives and like always, she was alone.
She knew it would soon be over. The pains had gotten worse over the years, and she had fought…
Every instruction to “Push”, every scream of “I can see the head”, every assurance of “Keep trying, it’s going to be okay”; Every one of them ignited a desire to fight for something, for someone.
But maybe she was done.
Maybe, she was done fighting.
Looking down at her child — her, it, she didn’t know — olive skin cold as death, she remembered all the times she would sneak out under the rain, running to the mango tree close to her house to pick anyone that had fallen. She remembered hiding in the shed under the tree to lick them. She remembered the thrill she got from checking to see if anyone was coming — she wasn’t allowed to have mangoes.
And right there, she was suddenly taken over by a craving for mangoes, causing her to smile weakly as she thought back to how it all began.
Mama yelled her name from a distance asking that she quickly come and greet the visitors. As she approached, she sighted an elderly man who upon setting his eyes on her, smiled a sinister smile, causing her to shiver, not of delight, but of pure fright.
His yellow teeth reminded her of mangoes, it had been so long since she had one of those — the tree behind their house hadn’t produced any ripe mangoes in a while. Mama said they were expensive and made a girl fat. If she were married, she could have mangoes, but not while she was still 16 years and living with her parents. She still snuck inside the shed, right under the mango tree, to eat mangoes, but mama could never know. As she thought of mangoes, she smiled, a smile that would cost her more than she would ever know.
“Ah ahn, you didn’t tell me she’s fine like this. She her fine figure and chocolate skin, this one will do”
At this point, the mangoes couldn’t do much to suppress the shiver, she was scared.
What did that mean?
This one will do what?
Mama distracted her thoughts by asking her to run to the shed to get another stool, and her greatest regret till this day is taking that step.
Silence
And then mama heard the signal, a scream and a loud thud.
“It is time”.
As they headed towards the shed, there she lay, three men holding her down, legs spread wide apart.
“Mmmmmmmmmm”, her screams for mama went unanswered.
“It’s okay. You’re already beautiful, this one will just make you more pleasurable to every man”.
As they widened her legs pulling down her under garments, she sighted the shine of the metal. She’d heard stories, but she never knew she was being prepared to be a cast. She knew someone who had experienced it, or at least that’s what she said, and she had an idea of the repercussions.
After struggling for minutes, she knew there was no hope for an escape. At the contact of the cold metal with her skin, she screamed, once and then stopped. And right there, with three men holding her down, an elderly man watching with delight and her own mother watching her suffer, she smiled weakly, as she thought of mangoes.
For in that moment, she was alone.
This is the story of not one, not two, but all of the ladies who have been victims of this act of injustice.
Just like her, so many females have been robbed of hope, joy, beauty, good health, wholeness, and in very unfortunate cases, their lives, by the evil act of Female Genital Mutilation.
Not only is this a crime against the lives of these victims, but it’s a huge stain on our image as a nation and as a continent.
We at the Baseline, join our voices with all advocates of justice, and we urge everyone to be a part of this. Let us all arise to fight FGM.
Save a girl today.
Save a generation today.
Save our world!
Say NO to Female Genital Mutilation!
