Have you ever heard of Breast ironing, Breast flattening or even Breast pressing

Well breast ironing is the process of
pounding or massaging a pubescent girl’s breast with hard or heated object to try to make them stop developing or disappear.

Whenever you hear this topic there is always some sort of religion or culture based reason behind it. It is more rampant in Cameroon and some other west African countries. Just imagine the horror of it. Imagine a hot stone charging to your chest, imagine yourself being gripped and held down with force with a hot stone piercing through your skin roasting all your tissues, imagine yourself groaning in pain or enduring the pain woosh woosh ,burning tissues, layer by layer. Some breast pressing are done in less painful way through the use of spatular or hammer. ​

You may think, what is the purpose of this? The reason behind breast ironing is to ptotect girls from being over sexualised since the breast has become the center of attention in any woman in terms of attractiveness. Breast ironing is also done to prevent girls from being raped or sexually abused or subjected to early marriage because breasts show how mature a girl is.

How unnecessary is this? On a scale of 1-10? 10. Why does so much attention have to be directed at protecting girls from men and so little directed at curbing the excessive superiority mentality in boys. We lock our girls up, cover them from head to toe all in the name of protecting them. We forget to tell our boys to respect a girl, that is why we have rapists walking our streets.

The woman’s body was not made to attract or send off men. We tell girls ‘your body belongs to your husband ‘ they start to think they are intimacy gadgets. That is why even husbands sexually abuse and exploit their wives . Your body belongs to you and only you, own it and love it.

As girls or women we are taught that our rights do not really count as long as our ‘purity’is kept because we have to protect our family’s honour. Men should be responsible for controlling their own urges just as how girls are naturally expected to never show theirs.
Living in a world where girls aren’t safe because of the natural state of their body. Breasts will grow, it will show, and if she says no, respect her and go.

Breast ironing is wrong for whatever reason. No one should be subjected to such horror all in the name of protection.

I have a friend who told me that her breast was pressed at 9 and I didn’t even understand why it was done because I was really young. But now that I do, I totally understand. Considering her religion I can understand a mother’s pressure to try and protect her daughter.

Who do we blame? Do we blame the mother for being protective? The culture for seeming ignorant and inhuman? The 70 year old politician who wants to marry a 9 year old girl? Or the crazy rapists who wants to molest a 9 year old because she has grown breasts?

Girls should never be subjected to such horror because their body is the way it is. Boys should be trained and curbed . Do not tell your daughters to stay in all the time, tell your boys to be decent.

Source:
https://odunayoibitoye./2016/07/28/breast-ironing-girls-face-mutilation/