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A harmful practice called breast ironing or flattening affects about 3.8 million women in Africa, including some parts of Nigeria. The practice aims to delay development in adolescent girls. Gibson Emeka has this story, narrated by Salem Solomon.
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((PLAYBOOK SLUG: NIGERIA BREAST IRONING
HEADLINE: Nigerian Activists Working to End Painful Practice of Breast Ironing
TEASER:
PUBLISHED AT:
BYLINE: Gibson Emeka
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: ABUJA, NIGERIA
VIDEOGRAPHER: Emeka Gibson
VIDEO EDITOR: Emeka Gibson
PRODUCER:
ASSIGNING EDITOR(S): Africa Division Editors
SCRIPT EDITORS: Salem Solomon, KEnochs; Reifenrath
VIDEO SOURCE(S): VOA Original
PLATFORMS: WEB __ TV X RADIO X
TRT: 2:57
VID APPROVED BY: KE
TYPE: TVPKG/RADIO
EDITOR NOTES: All SOTs have been introduced so it works for radio. For questions and final review, send it back to Africa Division’s senior editor, Salem Solomon, email: salemsolomon@voanews.com, Africa Division’s executive producer, Betty Ayoub, email: bayoub@voanews.com.
((INTRO))
[[A harmful practice called breast ironing or flattening affects about 3.8 million women in Africa, including some parts of Nigeria. The practice aims to delay development in adolescent girls. Gibson Emeka has this story, narrated by Salem Solomon.]]
((NARRATOR))
Patience Williams was only ten when she was subjected to a practice called breast ironing. Worried that she would attract attention from men, her mother pressed a hot object over her breasts to stall growth.
((Patience Williams, Opposes Breast Ironing)) ((Female, in English))
“It’s very painful. Immediately she’s done. I used to feel my body is hot.”
((NARRATOR))
A decade later, Williams is calling for an end to the painful practice.
Victoria Williams, who had also endured breast ironing, says she regrets putting her daughter through such an ordeal.
((Victoria Williams, Underwent Breast Ironing)) ((Female, in English))
“They did it for [to] me. It worked, but when I gave birth to my own, I tried it, but it didn’t work. My remaining two girls — I didn't do anything to them. All I am doing is that I used to draw them close to me, make them my friends. Anything bothering them, they will tell me.”
((NARRATOR))
While it's hard to determine how many women are impacted by the practice in Nigeria, about 3.8 million women across Africa are affected by breast ironing, according to the Africa Health Organization, an international health agency.
Credit Chioma Agwuegbo
Chioma Agwuegbo, a Nigerian gender rights activist..
End Credit
...describes the harmful nature of the practice and how it violates basic rights.
((Chioma Agwuegbo, Gender Rights Activist)) ((Female, in English)) ((ZOOM))
“Imagine somebody heating up a stone and depressing a part of your body because they don’t want that part of your body to grow. Nobody has the right to determine the rate of growth of any other person's body.”
((NARRATOR))
Nigeria classifies breast ironing as a criminal offense, as it does the practices of female genital mutilation and forced marriage. The country’s Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act of 2015 specifically penalizes offenders who commit “harmful traditional practices” with no more than a four-year jail term or a fine of up to $559 (500,000 Naira) or both. However, despite the law’s provisions, there is no known record in Nigeria of perpetrators facing punishment.
Justice Dakulu, a political leader in Jikwoyi village, says his community is committed to working with the government to stop breast ironing.
((Justice Dakulu, Politician)) ((Male, in English))
“In some certain places like here [Jikwoyi village], people still do it [breast ironing]. My community leaders [a committee of community leaders] are people who listen to the government. They are doing their best to see that it will come to an end.”
((NARRATOR))
The practice can cause not only tissue damage but also trauma. Other side effects include malformation, delay in breast milk production, and infection.
Activists like Agwuegbo and survivors like Williams say legislation isn’t enough, and they are trying to raise awareness in communities where breast ironing is still accepted by spreading the word through the media and urging community leaders to condemn the painful practice.
((For Gibson Emeka in Abuja, Nigeria, Salem Solomon, VOA News.))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
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