As she recovered from a week long coma, after going through a horrific experience of reported attempted forceful Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) from her husband’s family; Theresa has narrated her story with this medium of her ordeal after several attempts made on her person to force her into the SANDE/BONDO initiation or risk leaving the house of her husband.
Going through pains as she struggles to explain her ordeal, she narrated how her last two years in her matrimonial home was so filled with horror, as the family of her husband made several attempts to force her to go through the Bondo – Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).
At one point, she noted that she was blindfolded whilst she visited her in-laws residence. She was only saved by the neighbours after she raised alarm and since then she had no peace in her marital home.
She said on that fateful day 1st January 2020, the family of her husband Mohamed, invited her to a meeting which was held at her In-Law’s place, though the time slated for the said meeting was late.
She said she tried giving excuses so that she wouldn’t attend but she was threatened by her elder sister-in-law that if she did not attend the said meeting, she should be ready to leave her marital home as she will be forcefully kicked out of her marital home.
So with no option left for her, she has to attend the meeting though late and after some discussions and heated arguements in order to persuade her to be part of the Bondo Society, which she vehemently denied and refused, by then she was surrounded by female members of her husband’s family, they forcefully pushed her inside a dark room and closed the door on her.
After several appeals and pleas from her for them to open the door and release her so that she can go back to her family and children, all plea fell on deaf ears. She had to break the door open and attempt to run away but she was held down by her In-laws and a fight ensued with her struggling to free herself from their hold. During the struggle with the family members, she was heavily hit from her back with a wooden chair on her neck and she fell down on the floor and went into coma. She did not know what happened next, she only saw herself in the hospital after five days, with cervical thoracic neck brace strapped around her neck. She was told she had a spine injury as a result of the hit she sustained on her neck, with bruises on her back, shoulders and pain all over her body.
Meanwhile, one of the doctors, Dr. Mansaray disclosed to me that presently are struggling hard for her to get on her feet as the pain was too heavy and expressed hope that a team of highly qualified medical practitioners she will recover slowly for her trauma.