What is "sinus ironing", the humiliating method that they apply to little girls to prevent them from being abused?

March 26, 2019

Girls are exposed to infections, cysts, malformations or destruction of the mammary glands. "They did not let me complain, but it hurt me a lot," one of them said.

A humiliating and painful practice has sparked controversy around the world: it is about "Breast ironing", something they do about underage girls, to prevent them from being badually abused.

This brutal ritual is to flatten the bust of girls using stones, pans and even hot plates, with the aim of "not to arouse the interest of men".

In this way, young women can not develop normally. The scariest thing is that The girls think that's for their good and accept despite the pain.

Young women face damage like infections, cysts, deformities or destruction of the mammary glands, which makes future badfeeding impossible.

The practice comes from West Africaalthough in recent years it has spread to some European countries. Even from the United Kingdom, ask for awareness-raising courses on the subject, explained the journalist of the BBC Amber Haque.

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Haque collected the testimony of a young woman who lives there and her mother applied this method at the age of ten: "They did not let me complain, but it hurt me badly", Remembers Kinaya (fictitious name) in dialogue with BBC World.

In this sense, she explained that her mother had forced her: "She said to me," If you do not do it, the men will start chasing you to have bad with you. "They did not allow us to cry, if so, then they told you that you would shame your family, that you were not a strong woman."

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The years have pbaded and Kinaya now has two daughters and her grandmother wanted to apply the same method to one of her granddaughters. Upon learning this, he went very far to avoid the torture of his mother: "I immediately said no, none of my daughters would go live that. I still live the trauma of this time. "

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According to the German development agency GIZ, one in 10 women in Cameroon suffered from "bad ironing". In addition, the UN claimed that about 3.8 million young people and girls around the world, mainly in Cameroon and Nigeria, have been victims of this ritual.

In wealthier families, instead of using hot items, they opt for a elastic strap to press firmly on the chest. Although there is still no specific rule prohibiting or sanctioning flattening, both the United Kingdom and the European Union consider this to be the case. a form of child abuse.

According to gynecologist Angie Marriott, because of the low number of complaints, this "bad ironing" is a "Hidden crime"where women are afraid to speak to avoid being expelled from their communities.

Source: BBC World