Breaking the Glass Ceiling

Female genital mutilation has been a practice as old as traditional African belief, judiciously followed by tribes in Africa with the misguided belief that it enhances fertility in women and helps them to be faithful to their husband's. With this misguided notion in force any contrary opinion is automatically seen as rebelling against the custom of the land. Awa a middle aged woman had a terrible experience in her village during her circumcision and the experience made her vow that her daughter would never be subjected to the same torture as she. Her seventeen year old daughter Aya, having attained marriage age and according to the custom of the land, must be circumcised before her marriage to her suitor from the city can be recognized by tradition. Awa vigorously fought against the idea with all she had believing that her husband would be as strong willed as she. Her husband Nguesan supported his wife to an extent, but was unwilling to go against the customs of the community so as not to be called weak by the men-folk, but he finally saw the light and supported his wife. Even as Koko carried all manner of lies about him, he was unshaken in his belief that his daughter needed something better than what the glass ceiling for girls afforded her, a position he held even unto his unfortunate demise from his palm tree. Koko posited that if Aya was not circumcised, the consequences would not only be the collapse of her marriage plans, it would incur the anger of the gods falling on her, such anger will plague her with diseases, pestilence, unsuccessfulness and ultimately death. Because she would have gone against the very essence of their custom. Awa on her part was determined to save her daughter from the status of a second class citizen which would befall her if she marries Chief Amusa's son, so she decided that her daughter should forgo the marriage plans and further her education to enable her become somebody in life. This decision of hers practically made her enemy to all the other women in the village with only the somehow clumsy Maimouna to call friend. She successfully fought against the general consensus stipulating the girl child cannot be allowed to go beyond the secondary school level, because they were expected to get married and raise children for their husband's. Against all odds Aya went to the university on a scholarship with the aid of the much hated Doctor Giselle, who was posted to supervise the health needs of the nine villages and to enlighten them on the dangers of female circumcision. Aya went on to be a medical doctor coming out from medical school with the best ever result in the continent. With that feat she attracted the President to her community, thus breaking the myth that her not being circumcised would spell doom for her. She broke the yoke of the old ways in her community and the nation at large. All the members of her community was first astounded by her achievements, then became very proud of her, even the Chief Priest of the Isele deity had a smile for her at last.

Author: Ikenna Emmanuel

Publisher: Independently Published

Publication Date: Sep 16, 2022

Number of Pages: 98 pages

Binding: Paperback or Softback

ISBN-10: NA

ISBN-13: 9798353175575