A Childhood Shattered by Tradition
In 2006, at just 14 years old, the survivor (whose identity is withheld for safety) lived in Makeni, Sierra Leone, with her mother, Zainab, and elder sister, Aminata. That year, she and her sister were forcibly taken for initiation into the Bondo society, a traditional organization tied to the practice of FGM. During the ritual in the “Bondo bush,” Aminata’s screams echoed through the forest as she pleaded for help, shouting, “I’m dying!” Moments later, elders disclosed that Aminata had not survived the procedure. In the chaos, the survivor and two other girls fled to Freetown, Sierra Leone’s capital, where she began rebuilding her life.
A New Life Interrupted
In Freetown, she met Yasin, a partner with whom she built a blended family. She had two children from a previous relationship, Georgiana and Ralph Coker, while Yasin had two children, Ishmaeler and Isata. In 2019, the couple welcomed their daughter, Mckenzie. But in December 2024, a deceptive phone call shattered their fragile stability. A woman claiming to be the survivor’s aunt informed her that Zainab was critically ill and urgently requested her presence in Makeni.
Trusting the plea, the survivor traveled with Mckenzie, only to discover it was a ruse. Upon arrival, she learned her mother had died days earlier and that community leaders demanded she assume Zainab’s senior role in the Bondo society—a position requiring her and Mckenzie to undergo FGM. “They said the initiation was already planned. I knew we had to escape again,” she recounted.
On December 3, Yasin infiltrated the Bondo bush to rescue them, an act of defiance that is a serious punishable offence under the codes of Sierra Leone’s Poro secret societies. Fearing for their lives and safety