ETHICS
How human rights, morals, and ethical opinions of different groups influence the practice of breast ironing in Cameroon
Breast Ironing and UN's Basic Human Rights
According to the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the practice of breast ironing is in violation of three Articles. Article 5 states that all humans have the right to be free of torture and degrading treatment (United Nations, n.d.). Parents who subject their daughters to breast ironing are harming their daughters both physically and emotionally, causing damage that may last for the rest of their lives. Young girls who are reared in an environment where breast ironing is a norm are taught to feel ashamed of their bodies developing breasts, which is a degrading view of women. Breast ironing is physically painful and can cause damage to the breasts and other health problems.
Cameroonian and Nigerian representatives for the United Nations (UN News Centre, 2012).
Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that all humans are entitled to health and well-being, and that children have the right to special protection (United Nations, n.d.). When fathers, mothers, or family members choose to flatten their daughter’s, they are potentially creating social damage, and manifesting an idea in the next generation that women’s bodies are devalued. The practice of breast ironing is violating Article 25 because the health of young girls is jeopardized in an attempt to make them appear less attractive to men.
Breast ironing also violates Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This article states that all humans have a right to an education that promotes the strengthening of respect for human rights (United Nations, n.d.). The children in these regions where breast ironing is practiced do not receive a proper sex education and are often convinced of untruths about puberty. Some of these misconceptions include that breasts develop early if a girl is having sexual thoughts or being touched by a man, and that breast ironing delays breast development until a later “appropriate” time. There is a correlation between practicing breast ironing and having a “village mentality”, which is used to describe communities of people who have not been exposed to the ideas of women’s equality, children’s rights, and biological development (Tapscott, 2012). With proper education on human rights and biological development provided in these areas, the current misconceptions would be brought to light and the prevalence of breast ironing may substantially decrease.
An interview with a mother who chose to breast iron her daughter and with a girl who was breast ironed (TMPinfo, 2011).
Physical and Psychological Damage
(Pare, 2015)
An important ethical issue to acknowledge when discussing the impact of breast ironing is potential psychological damage. Young girls subjected to this practice have resulting feelings of internalized blame, fear, shame, rejection, and a lack of self-confidence. An interviewer stated that the young girls perceive this treatment as a punishment for displeasing their parents, and girls are unable to understand why they are receiving this punishment (Tapscott, 2012). When girls are exposed to breast ironing at a young age, they perceive it as normal and believe they should not have breasts. This belief causes young girls to become frustrated and ashamed at their bodies for developing breasts because they are being taught to believe that breast development is a negative occurrence (Ndonko and Ngo’o, n.d.). Shame and fear brought on by breast ironing can cause decline in academic performance, or even encourage young girls to flee their homes, making them more likely to become victims of sexual exploitation (Tapscott, 2012). Researchers have found that victims are hesitant to speak out and often first claim they do not remember the experience, but with time will describe the emotional and physical pain (Tapscott, 2012).
A young girl interviewed by a CNN journalist is still traumatized by the physical and emotional pain of being subjected to breast ironing with a hot pestle each day before school. (Mabuse, 2011). Victims of breast ironing sometimes become so traumatized that they lose their memory of it even happening to them. For the women that suffer from psychological disorders in the future, many of them deny that these repercussions stem from having their chests flattened as young girls (Taku, 2011).