Tradition

I was thinking about female genital mutilation and the prevalency it still has within a large number of African communities, and in other countries worldwide. After reading Alice Walker's Possessing the Secret of Joy I began to watch interviews with women who had been under the knife, and this is my interpretation of one of the ways it takes place.

tradition

it's tradition, they say

new clothes, new jewellery

this celebration is all for you

that elegant gait, they say

walk with a slip slide shuffle

legs together, like true women

Come inside, they say

every woman has to do it

do you want to get married or not

hold her down, they say

spread her legs

hand me the knife

cut it all out, they say

every lump, every bump

make sure you get it all

stitch her up, they say

she's not dirty anymore

she can get a husband

congratulations, they say

FGM