Freetown, 8th July 2026- The National Coordinator of the Forum Against Harmful Practices (FAHP) has issued a powerful call to Sierra Leone’s political class, urging them to stop exploiting women and girls in the pursuit of votes. Speaking on the Truth Morning Devotion program, he declared: “The bodies of our women and girls should not be traded for votes.”
He condemned the hypocrisy of many who publicly support female genital mutilation (FGM) while ensuring their own daughters are spared. “Government has a flagship project worth supporting, not FGM,” he stressed, praising the First Lady’s Hands Off Our Girls initiative, but warned that progress is being undermined as children are forced into the Bondo bushes instead of classrooms.
The FAHP Coordinator highlighted that in hard-to-reach communities, suitors seeking child brides often drive support for harmful practices. He cautioned against complacency, saying: “We should not have a lukewarm attitude to FGM.”
Clarifying FAHP’s position, he emphasized that the organization is not against the Bondo culture itself, but against the cutting. “We say yes to the values of the Bondo culture, but no to mutilation.”
