Ending FGM: A Framework for Leaders Who Mean It Female genital mutilation remains one of the most contested and consequential issues in West African public life. It sits at the intersection of culture, gender, and power, and it is precisely that intersection that makes it so difficult to address with the clarity it demands. Two hundred and thirty million women and girls alive today have undergone #FGM. #SierraLeone accounts for some of the highest rates in the world, with 83 per cent of women aged 15 to 49 reported as having been cut in the 2019 Demographic and Health Survey, compared to 90 per cent in 2013. Yet the country still has no national law that explicitly bans the practice. The way leaders speak about this issue matters enormously. Sierra Leone's public debate on FGM is paralysed by mixed signals from prominent figures. When power appears to celebrate the practice, even symbolically, it costs lives. That is not hyperbole. It is cause and effect. Sierra Leone's ambiguity is written into its own statutes. The 2007 Child Rights Act prohibits harmful traditional practices but never names FGM. Prosecutions must rely on general assault charges, which are difficult to sustain and rarely brought. Meanwhile, Section 12 of the 1991 Constitution protects cultural practices, creating a legal space that soweis and their defenders are not slow to invoke. The result is predictable. Police do not intervene, soweis operate openly, and girls learn before they are old enough to understand what is happening to them that protection is conditional on where they were born and who their elders are. Women and girls should not have to guess whether they are safe under the watch of their own government. The Gambia's 2023 near repeal of its FGM ban illustrated exactly how fast backsliding can occur when leaders equivocate. Parliament moved to overturn the ban and reversed course only after sustained domestic and international backlash. The lesson is not a comfortable one. Ambiguity does not hold the line. It surrenders it. When girls as young as ten are cut during school holidays, often forcibly and without anaesthesia, the debate stops being academic. Data points do not bleed. People do. It is the ten-year-old in Kailahun who bled out because the sowei had no training and no clinic was nearby. It is the fourteen-year-old in Port Loko who was married at fifteen to conceal the infection that never healed properly. It is the mother who cannot explain to her daughter why pain is a rite, because she was never permitted to ask that question herself. It is in our high maternal mortality rates, deaths tied to complications of FGM that we still refuse to name directly. Every mixed signal from Freetown is a green light in a village. When a public figure parades with soweis but will not say plainly that this must end for girls under eighteen, that photograph becomes permission. The girl cut next month will carry the carelessness of a single public moment for the rest of her life. The cost is not abstract. It is girls who drop out of school from trauma, who die from sepsis, who learn before age twelve that their bodies are negotiable. When leaders perform ambiguity, it ends lives. Do no harm is not activism speak. It is the floor, the minimum standard from which change must begin. Rejecting FGM does not mean rejecting your roots. Embracing your community while standing with women and girls is not the same as going against your culture. Culture is dynamic. Development means ensuring that those roots do not choke the next generation. Bondo societies have mediated conflict, transmitted knowledge, taught life skills, and held communities together for centuries. Those functions are valuable and they must survive. What must not survive is the blade. Progress rooted in ignorance breeds the most dangerous kind of resistance. Change is inevitable, but the resistance to it is guaranteed. The task of responsible leadership is not to avoid resistance but to ensure that change does not abuse the very people it is meant to free. You do not drag people to progress. You lead them, informed, with an intent they can see and trust. The first requirement is clarity, not ambiguity. A government that protects human rights says so plainly and then legislates it. The 2007 Child Rights Act loophole must be closed. FGM must be named. The safety and dignity of every girl is not a cultural question. It is a constitutional obligation. The second requirement is humanity over rhetoric. Existing child protection laws must be enforced while broader consensus is built for explicit legislation. Traditional leaders must be engaged as partners in this process, not treated as obstacles or, worse, celebrated as though the status quo were acceptable. Many soweis are mothers first. Supporting their transition through life skills programmes and dignified livelihoods is not charity. It is a conscious social investment. The third requirement is patience grounded in evidence. Culture moves slowly, but policy sets the pace. Community-led education, funded domestically and designed locally, produces results that foreign-led condemnation cannot. In Kenya, alternative rites that preserved ceremony while abandoning the cut reduced FGM rates in target communities from 97 per cent to under 1 per cent within a generation. That is not a minor footnote. That is proof of what is possible when the approach is led by the people it affects. Citizens have a role. Ask your Member of Parliament where they stand. Clarity is protection. A politician who will not answer that question plainly has already given you their answer. Traditional leaders have a role. The 2022 Memorandum from the Council of Bondo Heads showed genuine openness to age limits. That opening is worth building on. The dialogue on safer rites of passage belongs to communities, and it is traditional voices that can lead it most credibly. Government has the most direct role of all. Publish the roadmap. Tell the country where we are going and why. Progress cannot be sustained without a clear direction that people can follow and hold their leaders accountable to. Flip-flopping agendas do not just stall change. They create casualties. Isata Bussoh Kabia is a former member of parliament and government minister.

It’s sad sad to see our nation being dragged through the mud through the actions of one woman due to greed.

London town hall seizes first lady of Sierra Leone’s council flat after year-long investigation Southwark Council confirmed it had taken possession of Fatima Jabbe-Bio’s two-bedroom property in Walworth standard.co.uk/news/politics…

King Jimmy Landing Finallist Spotlight 🌟 What if the solution to energy poverty could be powered by something as simple as saltwater? Meet King Jimmy Landing finalist, Oswald Dundas. As founder and CEO of Water-Light Technology, Oswald has spent years developing clean energy solutions capable of generating affordable off-grid electricity using saltwater. Since 2018, he has worked relentlessly to refine the technology, build prototypes, and conduct field demonstrations despite operating in a resource-contrained environment. His vision is to provide dependable energy solutions for homes, schools, and healthcare facilities across Sierra Leone and beyond. On June 20th, 2026, Oswald will join six other outstanding finalists at the King Jimmy Landing Pitch Competition, taking place during SLDIC 2026 London, presenting his company “Water-Light Technology” before a panel of judges, investors, business leaders, and members of the global Sierra Leonean diaspora. Join us in London and witness the future of Sierra Leonean innovation unfold live. Sign up here: makesierraleonefamous.com/pr… #SLDIC2026 #London #InvestinSierraLeone #Entrepreneurship #SierraLeone

Rain don cam now. Protect yourself from cold and other things

🙏 Amen

Good. Nor mek ANY wan silence you, survivors are always made to feel small and as if they don't matter but no more, the banner needs to be bigger and the voices louder #MeToo

.@Right2Equality launches its report in Parliament on judicial bias in family courts with @kirith_ae @jessphillips @AlexDaviesJones @FarahNazeer Analysis shows 72.5% of 91 judgments contained judicial victim-blaming, with mothers scrutinised. theguardian.com/law/2026/jun…

During the visit @MenEndFGM linked Ishmael with @AFGMBoard where he was able to learn about the operations of the board and how the Prohibition of Anti-FGM Act was passed in Parliament. In Kenya 🇰🇪 the board plays a key role in coordination of all the activities geared towards ending #FGM. #MenEndFGM

King Jimmy Landing Finallist Spotlight 🌟 Personal loss sparked a very powerful mission. Meet Bintu Kamara, a UK-based Sierra Leonean registered nurse who founded “Her Health, Her Power” (HHHP) following the loss of family members to reproductive cancers. Determined to prevent similar tragedies, she is leveraging technology, healthcare expertise, and community engagement to improve women’s health concerns, especially those in Sierra Leone. On June 20th, 2026, Bintu will join six other outstanding finalists at the King Jimmy Landing Pitch Competition, taking place during SLDIC 2026 London, presenting her company “Her Health, Her Power” before a panel of judges, investors, business leaders, and members of the global Sierra Leonean diaspora. Join us in London and witness the future of Sierra Leonean innovation unfold live. Sign up here: makesierraleonefamous.com/pr… #SLDIC2026 #London #InvestinSierraLeone #Entrepreneurship #SierraLeone

India High Commission Hosts Yoga Session in Kenema Ahead of International Day Read salonemessengers.com/india-h… @IndianDiplomacy @FreetownHci

For the last 2 weeks @MenEndFGM hosted Mr Ishmael Cole, the National Coordinator of the Forum Againist Harmful Practices (FAPH) #SierraLeone for an exchange learning visit on how to effectively engage men & boys in ending #FGM. (FAPH) is a coalition of over 40 organisations working across Sierra Leone in ending harmful practices #MenEndFGM

Brief Background in 2024 @MenEndFGM worked closely with Amazonian Initiative Movement (AIM) Sierra Leone and explored the possibility of launching a men Movement in the quest to #EndFGM in #SierraLeone A national convening was held with support of @UNFPASierraleon that led to the launch of #MenEndFGM Campaign in the country. Some highlights from Port Loko

The First Lady of Sierra Leone Madam Fatima Maada Bio has made her position clear, and that is precisely why many survivors feel hurt and abandoned. And frankly we are tired of her insults. As survivors of FGM, we have listened as we have been described as scammers, accused of being paid by white people to speak out, and portrayed as if our lived experiences are not real. Our lives is being threatened by her thousands of followers online. We are not going to be silenced. These are deeply troubling statements for any survivor to hear, let alone from someone who occupies one of the highest-profile positions in our country. We are not strangers. We are Sierra Leonean women and girls. We are mothers, daughters, sisters, and granddaughters. Many of us carry physical and emotional scars from a practice we did not choose. Our voices deserve to be heard with dignity and respect, even when people disagree with us. This is not about politics. It is not about personal attacks. It is about whether survivors are treated with compassion and whether our experiences are acknowledged rather than dismissed. A First Lady does not have to agree with every activist. But she should be able to engage respectfully with all her constituents, including survivors of violence. When survivors are ridiculed, labelled, or accused of acting in bad faith, it sends a painful message that their voices and experiences do not matter. We will continue to speak because we know our truth. We will continue to advocate because we believe the next generation of girls deserves protection. And we will continue to do so regardless of who supports us and who does not. Survivors deserve better than insults. They deserve respect, dignity, and a seat at the table whenever decisions affecting their lives are being discussed.

'She has made her position very clear and we are not going back to asking her where do you stand.' Anti-FGM campaigner Alimatu Dimonekene Mbe (@TheAlima) says recent remarks by the First Lady Fatima Maada Bio reflects her stance on FGM. #TruthTellers #NaTrueDaeLas

@TheAlima chefs kiss to your Facebook live. I tried to add you and inbox you but it doesn't seem to be going through. Thank you for standing up for yourself, women and children. You're a real woman and a wonderful example of what the feminist movement is about. I'm proud of you

Happy Sunday anti FGM campaigner will not be silenced. #EndFGM

My small brother - world class leader - Harvard law graduate you write ohh @FrancisKaifala What is particularly surprising for me is that this defence comes from someone entrusted with leading the fight against corruption and promoting accountability in public life. Public officials should be encouraging scrutiny, transparency, and honest debate, not dismissing legitimate concerns raised by survivors and campaigners. As a father of daughters, I would have expected a stronger focus on protecting girls from harmful practices and standing firmly on the side of their bodily autonomy and rights. The issue is not whether the First Lady has achieved positive things. The issue is whether those achievements should place her beyond criticism on matters that affect the health, dignity, and future of girls. Public service requires the ability to accept scrutiny, especially when the concerns being raised come from survivors, women’s rights advocates, and those who have dedicated their lives to protecting girls. We are not protestors but leaders calling on another to take accountability for her position to support women whose profession is centred on cutting the female genitals to appease politicians like you. If that is not a concern for you . Then God help us.

Thank you, my brother @hafiesorie. Of course, she has been out there representing Sierra Leone and Africa, and for many years some of us hoped she would eventually take a clear stand against FGM. Sadly, that has not happened. We had hoped also that former President @ebklegacy during his tenure would have acted he didn’t. However, this is not just about one individual. It is also about a government that has failed to take decisive action to protect women and girls from this harmful practice since President Bio came into office. That is why we continue to call on all political parties, not just one, to support legislation and policies that safeguard women and girls and bring an end to this violation of their rights. Our concern has never been about politics. It has always been about protection, prevention, and the rights of women and girls. This call to actions also goes out to leaders like you to take action steps to protect women and girls. We cannot wait anymore. Let us be on the right side of history. The world is now ready to hold Sierra Leone and its leaders accountable.