By Rancy Clarke, Bong County Correspondent
Bong County District #2 Representative James Kolleh has expressed strong opposition to the Executive Bill seeking alteration in the practices of female genital mutilation at Sande Society. He has vowed to reject the bill in its current form.
Rep. Kolleh believes the Bill is being engendered by western hands, whom he accused of driving the campaign against the cultural practice.
He expressed strong opposition to the abolition of FGM, vowing to vote against the passage of the bill. He argued that FGM is a longstanding cultural practice and that abolishing it would undermine indigenous heritage.
Kolleh insisted that FGM has been practiced in Liberia for decades without the severe health implications cited by rights groups and President Joseph Boakai.
Speaking at the 30th Anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women — also known as the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action — President Boakai had vowed to transform existing temporary moratoriums on practices such as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) into permanent national law.
The moratoriums were imposed based on studies by experts that female genital mutilation causes serious injury, sometimes deadly, when girls are cut, which leads to immediate risk of hemorrhage, shock, serious injury, and a range of infections.
Other negative effects include a lifetime of serious health problems and pain affecting girls and women, as well as long-term health consequences including scarring, cysts, abscesses and other tissue damage, infertility, and increased susceptibility to infections.
Experts say FGM can cause life-threatening childbirth complications during childbirth, and lasting consequences for girls’ and women’s mental health.
But the Bong lawmaker may not believe the alleged aftereffects of FGM as he criticized international advocacy groups pushing for the anti-FGM legislation. He has called on them to firstly address the LGBTQ issues, which he described as more harmful than FGM.
Kolleh’s comments come amid growing resistance from traditional authorities. During the launch of the National Assembly of Chiefs and Tribal Governors in Gbarnga recently, traditional leaders presented a verbal petition warning against attempts to alter their cultural practices, insisting such actions threaten their heritage.
Rep. Kolleh spoke to the media after attending the Unity Party Bong Chapter Fundraiser and Homecoming program in Gbarnga over the weekend, where he donated US$1,000 as his family’s contribution to the party and pledged another US$1,000 on behalf of Unity Party supporters in Jorquelleh District Two.
Meanwhile, Rep. Kolleh is facing criticisms of his own, with some members of the constituents openly accusing him doing nothing for them since he assumed office.
