Award-winning Nigerian filmmaker Biodun Stephen has shared her personal experience with female circumcision.
According to reports, the producer was interviewed for the Diary of a Naija Girl podcast. It was reported that the producer spoke during an interview on the Diary Of A Naija Girl Podcast.
She clarified that her grandmother assisted in her circumcision, which took place when she was six years old. The filmmaker explained the procedure as a cultural practice within her family.
She remembered being led outside to the location of the procedure while being watched by her grandmother. She was initially given permission to eat and play, which made her feel at ease and kept her from realising what was about to happen.
According to Stephen, she had to take a shower and then lie down, following which she felt excruciating pain that she could never forget.
She claims that at the time, no explanation was provided for what was taking place. Her mother consoled her when she got home by rubbing her body and saying she was sorry, but there was no in-depth conversation that followed.
Stephen emphasised that even after all these years, the pain is still clearly remembered. She also considered how the custom was ingrained in tradition, carried on through the generations, and frequently performed without explaining its significance to young people.
“For me personally, it was my grandmother,” she stated. God bless my grandmother. In any case, I don’t want to discuss mine. Thus, I believe my mother was as well. For them, it is a culture. Because I recall getting circumcised when I was six years old. I was six years old, yes. Thus, I have a clear memory of it. severe pain. Clearly. I’m looking at the picture as I speak to you. Later that day. Outside, there was a mat. I was brought to the woman’s home by them.
You see, I was six years old. I had no idea what was happening. “I mean, I love my grandma,” my grandmother said. “Let’s go somewhere,” she says. Thus, we travelled to this location. I was permitted to play. I even had some food. made me feel at ease. My grandmother then said, “Come on, let’s go take a shower.” I was, you know, six. This is what I recall. And they told me to lie down the following day.
The brain was in excruciating pain. Indeed. I had no idea what had happened. The subject was not discussed. When I got home, they made me feel ill, but my mother wasn’t, you know. She gave me a “my baby” sorry body rub. That was the end of it.
