I was six when I was taken for circumcision — Filmmaker, Biodun Stephen

Award-winning Nigerian filmmaker Biodun Stephen has opened up about her experience with female circumcision, saying she went through the procedure when she was six years old.

Stephen shared her story during an interview on the Diary Of A Naija Girl Podcast, where she explained that the incident involved her grandmother and was carried out as part of her family’s cultural practice.

“In my own case, it was my grandma. My grandma, God bless her soul. Mine was, anyway, I don’t want to talk about it. So I think that also my mom was. So it’s a culture for them. 

“Because I remember I was six when I went for circumcision. Yes, I was six years old. So I remember it vividly. Deep pain. Vividly. As I’m talking to you, I’m seeing the picture. That afternoon. It was a mat outside. They took me to the woman’s place.”

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According to the producer, she was taken to a location outside under her grandmother’s supervision. 

She said she was allowed to play and eat at first, which made her feel relaxed and unaware of what was about to happen.

She explained that she was later asked to take a shower and then told to lie down before the circumcision was carried out. Stephen said the pain from the experience has stayed with her over the years.

“You know, I was six. I didn’t know what was going on. My grandma just said, I mean, I love my grandma. She’s like, let’s go somewhere. So we went to this somewhere. 

“They allowed me to play. They allowed me to play. I even ate food. Made me feel comfortable. Then the next, my grandma said, come on, let’s go have a shower. You know, I was six. I remember this. And the next day they told me to lie down.”

She also revealed that no one explained to her what was happening at the time. After she returned home, her mother tried to comfort her and apologised, but the family did not discuss the incident further.

“The pain was searing to the brain. Yes. I didn’t know what happened to me. There was no conversation about it. My mother wasn’t, you know, when I got home, they gave me pain sick. She rubbed my body like sorry my baby. And that was it.”

Stephen noted that the practice was passed down through generations and was treated as a normal tradition, even though children were often not told why it was being done.