They say one moment can change how you view the world or people. Well, I believe it is true. My first contact with candlelight was on Monday night, when I was in class studying principles of management. As I was listening carefully as usual immerse myself into what the teacher is teaching us.
My teacher was called outside and was asked to send me to the Dean’s office. We have a very strict Dean so I was nervous at the beginning wondering what happened. He welcomed me and gave me short information about the organization and what they need us to do! He knew I was a previous Degree Holder, so he trusted me for the task and asked me if I was Interested? I accepted. Then He took me to the rest of the team that he had previously chosen, and introduced us to one another.
Next morning we had our first meeting with the team who represented Candlelight which came from Hargeisa to Burao they introduced themselves properly to us and so we did. The session began with what we knew about the history of Female Gentile Mutilation? Everyone expressed their opinions and some of us had more information than the other. We were divided into groups and we discussed openly on how it came to our community? Why we do it? At What age is it done to girls? Is it religious or not? At that point I stopped for a moment, and raised my hand for a question. I asked of what they meant if it is religious or not? But, the surprise that shocked me was the answer to my question! One of the team who represented candlelight said confidently, that harming girls is not based on our religion.
I was raised in an educated family but, I never had any doubt that FGM was religious. After the session was over I went back home full of questions of why is it done if it only brings physical and mental harm to the girls? Why our girls are going through that embarrassing moment of their lives? Why our mothers are not educated enough to know about this? Why people who are not even Muslims discussing these issues instead of us? Why are we telling and interpreting Islam in a wrong way?
In the next meeting I had done my research and was prepared to say am with “Zero Tolerance”. “They say,” If you are a person full of anger, you do not need another enemy. That is the case for the community of Somaliland they disregard the lives and the health of their girls, losing socially, economically and environmentally. Therefore, I am suggesting to the whole community to abandon practicing FGM to our innocent girls since our daughters do not need to be regarded as enemy. Making a mistake is natural but insisting on that mistake is foolishness. Investing on your daughters instead of the boys can lead to a better Somaliland than the one we have now. So, build a better future for your daughters by rising them well not by cutting her body but through a better education .After almost two years I think I could quote by saying what Henry L. Tischler said when he was dedicating his book to his fellow travelers “What I know about society could fill a book. What I don’t would fill the world.” What I mean is search more instead of just believing about FGM before killing half of the society’s life and confidence and your knowledge could fill a book.
By: Rahma Yousuf Ali (member of youth anti-FGM form)
