‘The pain was searing’ — Biodun Stephen opens up on being circumcised at six

Filmmaker Biodun Stephen has shared her experience as a victim of Female Genital Mutilation and its after-effects.

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As a filmmaker and screenwriter, Biodun is responsible for acclaimed titles like ‘Breaded Life’, ‘Sistà’, ‘Muri & Ko’, ‘Introducing the Kujus’, ‘The Kuju’s Again’, ‘Momiwa’ and others.

However, in an interview on the latest episode of the ‘Dear Ife’ series by Ifedayo Agoro, the movie director revealed that there are fragments of herself in most of her stories.

Giving an example of her very first film, ‘The Visit’, she said it briefly dwelt on female circumcision and its effects.

“I was circumcised. So I mentioned that because I just realised that, maybe because I was coming from radio, where I had this show and talked about life experiences, it helped me understand the kind of filmmaker I wanted to be and the kind of stories I wanted to tell.

“So in every film you know there’s a little fragment of me,” she said.

Searing pain

Reliving her experience as a victim of FGM, the filmmaker said that in her own case, it was her grandmother who took her to get circumcised.

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“I remember, I was six when I went to be circumcised. I remember it vividly, the pain. As I’m talking to you, I’m seeing the picture. That afternoon, that mat. They took me to the woman’s place. I didn’t know what was going on. My grandma just said, “Let’s go somewhere.”

“So, we went to this somewhere. They allowed me to play. It made me feel comfortable. Then the next thing, my grandma said, “Come on, let’s go have a shower.” And then they’ll bath you just by the corner of the compound.

“And then I just saw this man putting a mat on the floor, and they told me to lie down. The pain was searing to the brain. And then they stuffed me with tissue. I didn’t know what happened to me. There was no conversation about it. My mother was in the know. When I got home, they gave me Phensic. She rubbed my body, and that was it. There was no conversation. I got to eventually know what circumcision was as I grew older, when I started reading things about Female Genital Mutilation,” she recounted.

Family tradition

According to her, the practice was a tradition in her mother’s family.

She said, “My mother was (circumcised). Her sister was. Her own kids, I think, some of them were circumcised before everybody started vexing, saying that they don’t want it anymore. It was a tradition.

“My mother is from Edo State. I think it’s an Edo thing. But we are very Lagos. It’s when my grandma shows up that we hear all these new things. I can tell you for a fact that my grandma believes she was doing the right thing. She was honouring her lineage. She was honouring the culture. She was honouring the tradition. I remember when she tried to do it to my sister, my mother threw a fit. She disagreed. So you can imagine me asking myself, what happened between that time and when I was six?”

After-effects

On the after-effect of circumcision, the filmmaker said that the most obvious would be the fact that victims are not able to enjoy intercourse, ever.

“It depends on how badly you’ve been cut. You know you’re not really able to enjoy sex or even experience orgasm. Because you know it is your clitoris that has been nipped. Sometimes they nip it.

“That is one of the struggles. Thank God, there are other medicines now,” she said.