Adolescence is an age for fun, growth and development of the body. As girls enter a phase of healthy growth once they turn 10, there are many in Africa who are devoid of this only due to fear of sexual abuse. Their mothers press a burning hot pestle against their still-developing breasts, according to Al Jazeera which reported of one such girl in Nigeria. The entire process is known as breast ironing which is an attempt to shield a girl from sexual harassment as she grows up.
What is breast ironing?
Breast ironing, also known as breast flattening, is a cultural practice in which adolescent girls' breasts are ironed or pounded down with heated materials to delay their development or disguise the onset of puberty, according to the Africa Health Organisation, Al Jazeera reported.
According to 2021 research published by the United States’ National Institutes of Health (NIH), the traditional and household tools which are used to perform the procedure of breast flattening include grinding stones, cast iron, coconut shells, calabashes, hammers, sticks or spatulas, Al Jazeera reported.
Why is 'Breast ironing' practised?
The communities who practise breast ironing do so as they think that it will make girls look less attractive to men, which will act as a shield from rape, abduction and early forced marriage while also keeping them attending schools, the media report stated citing AHO. However, it is a form of physical mutilation that harms a girl's psychological well-being, according to health bodies and rights groups, who also say that all this contributes to the high school dropout rate of those who are its victims.
What does the UN say on the matter?
According to the United Nations (UN), breast flattening affects nearly 3.8 million women in Africa and is counted among one of the five most under-reported crimes concerning gender-based violence. Roughly 25 to 50 per cent of girls in nations such as Cameroon and some parts of Nigeria are victims of this practice, according to data from the journal, Annals of Medical Research and Practice, Al Jazeera reported.
In Cross River State in southern Nigeria, the act is performed on girls by their mothers or other maternal figures.
Al Jazeera reported of one such victim John whose breasts were ironed. Even after years, she suffered from pain and her breasts could not develop evenly with her muscles still weak today. She said that she had trouble sleeping when she was 19 due to excruciating pain. What was worse is that her family stuck to its cultural beliefs and did not believe that breast ironing was the cause even after visiting doctors, the report said.
"Before I married, I would buy painkillers for the breast pain, but it worsened after marriage [and pregnancy] when I was trying to breastfeed my child," AL Jazeera quoted her as saying.
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