Nigeria is the largest, and most populous, of the West African states. After years of military rule the democratic government must deal with the legacy of corruption and ecological disasters engendered by the oil industry. Although wealthy by African standards the people see none of this oil wealth. Nigeria can be roughly divided into a largely Moslem north, a Christian south and a hinterland where indigenous beliefs still prevail. The recent unrest in the Islamic world has affected the northern areas with bloody riots between Moslems and Christians over the jurisdiction of Sharia' courts.
For ten or so years we have been in contact with a woman, Hannah, who maintains a women's shelter in the Niger delta. Hannah campaigns against traditional practices harmful to women. These include female genital mutilation, polygamy, child marriage and a general denigration of the value of women. In one of her letters she wrote of a birthing custom. When a child is to be born the family gathers to wait. If the baby is a boy they stay and celebrate. Should the baby be a girl, they all go home.
The book "Imprinting Our Image: an international anthology by women with disabilities", published in Canada, contains an essay by Ntiense Ben Edemikpong titled "We shall not fold our arms and wait: female genital mutilation". Ntiense is our friend in Nigeria.
We receive baskets from her shelter made from grasses and rafia.
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© 1998-01-22 George Richards update=230704