Cultural
How the social and cultural norms, beliefs, and taboos of the Cameroonian people influence the practice of breast ironing
Breast ironing affects nearly 25% of women in Cameroon. With this common practice occurring for girls between the ages of 8-12, when they start puberty. The idea behind the breast ironing is to flatten the breast that is developing, which protects the young girl from unwanted sexual attention from boys. They say they are sending the developing breast back to where it came from. Less sexual attention means less unwanted pregnancy for the girl (Tapscott, 2012).
(Ortiz, 2011)
The practice is not used for all young girls, but the ones who may be developing breasts earlier than other girls. The most common application of breast ironing is done by the mother, but can also be done by other family members or even the girl herself, although this is very rare. The person who is doing the breast ironing, typically has no regrets about this decision, because they believe it will protect their daughter or relative (Sa’ah, 2006). Breast Ironing drives a huge connection for past family history who’ve actually had breast ironing done to themselves. Most women still have a baby at an early age, which in sense should have been postponed because of the breast ironing that took place (Hall, 2013).
A young girl being forced upright, fighting through the pain, so her breasts can be ironed. (Tapscott, 2012)
Breast ironing puts the young girl in extreme pain, as some sort of object is heated up very hot then placed so it “massages” the breast. The objects can include a Grinding stove, wooden pestle, spatula, Broom, belt, or fruit pits/ shells. The most common is the wooden pestle, as it is also used for preparing food. Breast ironing depends on each family, as how long and how often it will occur. On average sessions can be between 10-15 minutes each. The sessions are sometimes done only once, daily, weekly, or monthly. (Tapscott, 2012)
This video is in a foreign language, but is a good visual demonstration of how breast ironing is performed.A short video that gives a glimpse of a girl being breast ironed (Kahlu, 2016).
After the Breast ironing is complete, it can cause third degree burn, which puts the girl at a higher risk for infection. Not only will she be in a lot of physical pain, but the scars could stay with her for the rest of her life. The question remains after breast ironing: Will the breast develop at all? Will my breast develop much larger than it originally would have? There isn’t much research out there to answer these questions, since every individual's body is different (Tapscott, 2012). Most women are raised, being told that having breasts is bad. The women grow up ashamed of her breasts, which are human nature. She is embarrassed and ashamed of her breasts, and if she has any scars (Gender Danger, 2012).
Young girls learn about the danger of breast ironing, and encourage other young girls to share their opinions (Gender Danger, n.d.).
Although the physical pain will disappear, the physiological pain will always remain high (Pare, 2015). Women who experience breast ironing and breasts don’t develop correctly, have a desire to get plastic surgery. But their income does not allow them to do that (Pare, 2015).
Rape Culture in Cameroon
A girl protests against rape in Africa. (This is Africa, N.D)
Another very important aspect that relates to the breast ironing is the terrible rape culture. The rape rate is 2.4 per 100,000 girls, which doesn't even take account the rapes that are not reported. The hospital will only receive about 15-20 cases of rape each year. Of the rapes in Cameroon, 12% of them happen in young girls who are then below the age of 12. Which for most cases breast ironing should have already had happened. Like the rape culture in other countries, the rape could be done by someone close to them, such as a friend, brother, or father. After these young women are raped they are forced into marriage or may have to stay in the same foundation of the rapist (Adams, 2016).
This video contains information about an empowered and growing organization in Cameroon whose mission is to end sexual violence against women in Cameroon. The concerns stated by the interviewed women demonstrate the prevalent issues that sexual violence and rape culture are in Cameroon (OGCEYOD Cameroon, 2015).