BREAST IRONING! A traditional killer of the Pinks' brighter tomorrow:LET THE KITCHEN BREAST GROW!

DO YOU KNOW, That  there are a number of unreported harm done against the girl child?.
   There are particular forms of violence against women and girls which are defended on the basis of tradition, culture, religion or superstition.These are referred to as harmful traditional practices which include female genital mutilation,corrective rape,BREAST IRONING, to mention but a few.These practices are harmful because they inflict pains on the girl child, interfere with the health, mental and physical growth of the pink gender,and is thus an undeniable threat to their brighter tommorow.

WHAT IS BREAST IRONING?
Strange and simple as it sounds,it is according to the United Nations,one of the underreported crimes against gender-based violence,targeted against the girl child.
So growing up,I once experienced the breast flattening of my best friend..we were told she looked too small to grow Breasts at the time,and boys would start running after her and she will get pregnant and so they needed to send back the "KITCHEN BREAST"..that's the name they call the first growing little breasts of the girl child in my place..
Funny as it sounds,my best friend went through the painstaking act with those myopic idea of eliminating male attention and hope of a new and better boobs.

BREAST IRONING is a harmful traditional practice that is performed in many countries across West and Central Africa by a mother or elderly woman on a pubescent daughter.It is the use of grinding stones, spatulas,hot stones to iron the breast for the purpose of preventing sexual abuse, Curtailing the beginning of sexual life for girls,and to prevent or reverse breast growth.

This can have dangerous consequences as the use of electric iron to flatten the breast is itself terrific and harmful! On the contrary, it does not prevent girls from becoming sexually active BUT RATHER; causes negative physical effects such as fever, tissue damage, inability to produce breast milk! And although no medical studies of it's effects have taken place, Medical Experts warn it could contribute to the dreaded BREAST CANCER, cysts and interfere with breast feeding later in life as well as, cause damaging psychological effects and can lead to mental health conditions such as depression!...

Wouldn't it be more harmful to fold our arms and damn the consequences?Together we can say No to these harmful practices and say YES to a brighter tommorow of the girl child.

Written by:
Amah Juliet
IAAG Volunteer