カメルーンの早熟性行為防止 http://www.xinhua.jp/rss/361898/ 『
南アフリカのニュースサイト「Times LIVE」によれば、
中部アフリカのカメルーンでは、少女が過度に早く性行為を始めることを防ぐため、過熱した石で
少女の胸に「アイロン」をかけ、胸の発育を遅くさせるという習慣がある。広州日報が8日伝えた。
現在31歳のある女性も11歳のころから毎晩、寝床に押さえつけられ、母親に熱湯に入れた石で胸を平らにされる経験をしたという。』
簡単な記事だけど、ちょっとビックリしたニュース。
アフリカのカメルーンでは、
少女の早熟性行為を防ぐ為、胸にアイロンをかけるという。
これって日本でやったら、
児童虐待だよ。
少女の胸に熱いアイロンをかければ胸の発達は遅れるのかもしれないけど、身体的、精神的にダメージを受けるのではないか?
この記事では概要だけなので、
南アフリカのニュースサイト「Times LIVE」を見てみた。原文はこうなっていたよ。
http://www.timeslive.co.za/africa/2013/10/03/cameroon-s-mothers-iron-daughters-breasts-to-delay-puberty 『It happened a long time ago, two full decades, but Raissa Nana's painful memories have remained fresh.
"My mother began to flatten my chest when I was 11. Every evening, she heated a stone in boiling water and pressed it on my breasts," the 31-year-old remembered, her anger still written all over her face.
Dressed in a plain T-shirt that betrayed her flat chest, Nana recalled the physical abuse and humiliation she endured throughout puberty: "I cried out in pain, while my aunts were holding me down."
By "ironing" her bust for years, the mother damaged Nana's breast tissue irreparably.
The practice of "breast ironing," in which mothers try to flatten their daughters' developing breasts with heavy, heated objects is common in Cameroon as well as in many other West African countries, including Nigeria, Togo, Guinea, Chad and Ivory Coast.
Some women use stones or pestles to prevent breast growth, while others pound the tissue with heated plantain peels.
In nations where teenage pregnancy and rape are rife, trying to forcibly eliminate signs of puberty to protect their daughters seems worth the pain to many mothers.
A quarter of girls fall pregnant under the age of 15 in Cameroon, according to 2011 government statistics, while an estimated four per cent of women and girls are being raped.
"Mothers don't want their daughters to get involved in early sexual activity, become pregnant and drop out of school," explained Dr. Flavien Ndonko, technical adviser and anthropologist of aid organization German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) in Cameroon.
In a society, where discussing sexuality with children is a taboo for cultural and religious reasons, mothers resort to methods that have serious implications on their daughters' health and psyche, according to Ndonko.
"They don't realize how traumatizing breast ironing is," he said. "It's a very, very painful practice."
But behavioural patterns are hard to change and myths difficult to set straight.
Even today, Nana's mother, 52-year-old Emilienne, continues to believe the "benefits" of breast ironing outweigh the physical and emotional suffering it causes.
"I myself underwent breasts ironing. I did it to my daughter because I wanted the best for her," she told dpa.
In Cameroon, 12 per cent of women have had their breasts ironed, according to a new study, for which GIZ surveyed about 6,000 girls and women between the ages of 10 and 82.
Contrary to general assumptions, breast ironing is not an old tradition. "It's a social issue that is much more prevalent in urban than in rural areas. It originates from modern problems around sexuality," explained Ndonko.
The psychological trauma the practice induces is immense.
"Girls get to understand that it's not normal to have breasts, which has a long-term impact on their body image and sexual life," said Ndonko.
"More than half of the women we interviewed associate breasts with shame," he added.
Although Cameroon's ministry for family and women's empowerment classified breast ironing as a "violation of women's rights" in 2011, the government has not legislated against the practice.
Eighty per cent of the women surveyed by GIZ said their breasts were permanently deformed by breast ironing. Nine per cent said they had difficulty breastfeeding their babies.
"We have seen girls developing cysts, infections, deformation and dissymmetry of the breast and psychological illness," explained Sarah Ako, spokesperson of women's rights group National Network of Aunties, which works closely with GIZ in capital Yaounde.
More than 10,000 women across Cameroon have joined the network to fight for the rights of younger generations. They run educational campaigns in schools, churches and on national radio to mobilize against breast ironing.
The good news is that the campaign has shown success. The 12 per cent of women suffering today from breast ironing represents a halving of the number in 2006, when an initial GIZ survey found that one in four women were affected by the practice.
"That's a positive trend. It's encouraging, but we'll only be happy when we have zero cases," said Ndonko.
Nana is one of the women who want to help break the cycle. As part of the Aunties network, she consults young women on issues relating to their sexuality.
Nana says she certainly won't flatten the breasts of her own daughter, who just turned 14: "I don't think it's a solution to prevent premature sexuality."』
記事によると、この胸にアイロンをかける方法を
性早熟を防ぐ手段をして信じている
カメルーンの母親はけっこういるらしい。
その背景には
カメルーンの少女の4分の1は15歳以下で妊娠するという社会的背景があるようだ。 う〜ん、それは凄いな。
途上国では大人と看做される年齢が概して早いけど、それを差し引いてもちょっとね・・・。
15歳以下の妊娠だと身体的にまだ未熟な面があるだろうから、母体にかかる負担が大きい。
それでこの
胸へのアイロン当てが流行り始めたのかな?
僕は
カメルーンの田舎で信じられている迷信が今も続いているのだろうと思っていたんだけど、記事によると、田舎より都市部で流行っているというからちょっとビックリ。
やはり
胸アイロンはかなり痛いらしいし、後の
性生活や授乳にも影響が出てきている人もいるらしい。まあ、そりゃそうだろうな。
毎日胸に熱い石アイロンを押し付けられていたら、本来の胸の機能が失われる人だって出てくるだろう。
これって
女性の人権問題とも関わっているね。
女性への暴力とも取れる問題だ。
もう一度いうけど、日本だと
児童虐待の罪に問われる話だよね。
今、
ドイツの国際協力機構?(
German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ))が
カメルーンで
胸アイロン防止に尽力している。
学校や教会、ラジオを通じて胸アイロンの防止を呼びかけているのだ。
その結果、調査を始めた2006年の25%ぐらいから今は半減して12%ぐらいらしいけど。まあ、7年ぐらいでこの数字はいいよね。
それにしても、世界には色々な考え方があり、色々な問題があるんだなぁ。
世界は広い!