For the first time in the history of Sierra Leone a Sowei (woman engaged in the practice of female genital mutilation) is in court after the death of an initiate.
21-year-old Maseray Sei, a mother of two, died in December 2021 a day after undergoing the procedure at the hands of a Sowei known as Sowoh Sandy, who is said to be in her 60s.
Sandy is charged with manslaughter and not directly for carrying out FGM because the practice itself is not outlawed outright, even though the country’s child rights law forbids children being subjected to “harmful treatment”.
An autopsy report confirmed that the deceased died from excessive bleeding emanating from the cutting.
The charge sheet reads that Sowoh committed the offense of “manslaughter for unlawfully killing Maseray Sie in Nyandehun village, Imperri chiefdom in Bonthe” in December 2021.
The landmark case came up in court late on Friday in Moriba Town and the magistrate refused the accused bail and sent her on remand until the adjourned date of 20 July.
One pro-FGM campaigner who does not wish to be named says they will get her a lawyer at the adjourned date and will stoutly stand by her. Campaigners have hailed the move as “a watershed moment” in the fight against the procedure.
One of them, Rugiatu Neneh Turay called it “a win for the women of Sierra Leone”.
Sei died shortly after the passing of a 10-year-old girl, Marie Kamara and 19-year-old Fatmata Turay who succumbed in 2016 after undergoing FGM.
Campaigners say many die as a result of FGM but the traditionalists and relatives of the deceased cover them up.
A 2019 demographic health survey in the country estimates that 83% of women and girls aged 15 to 49 years have undergone FGM.
Copyright © 2022 Politico Online (18/07/22)
