Clitoraid Story




"My elder sister woke up very early that day and started to boil water on the wooden fire. When the women arrived, my sister tricked me and asked me to go and give a bar of soap to the old woman in the bathroom; so silly of me. I ran there to do it fast and once in front of the toilets, two of the women grabbed me by the arms and put me down on the floor. One was seated on my belly holding my two wrists on my chest, the two others were holding my feet and the old one was in the middle and they cut off my clitoris without anesthesia. It took me two months to heal...”

Banemanie was thirteen when she was genitally mutilated. She is now 55 and she was one of the first to call Dr. Lankouade, a local surgeon who practices FGM repair, to be operated on. Unfortunately, Clitoraid had to send Bane to have a second surgery in Paris under the care of Dr. Foldes because the surgery conducted by Dr. Lankouade was not successful. Once Clitoraid's hospital opens, African Doctors will be offered free surgical training to insure successful results on their patients too. After her surgery with Dr. Foldes, Bane is now able to feel new sensations in her rebuilt clitoris.

She founded the Burkinabe association Association Voie Feminine de l’Epanouissement (AVEFE) a few years ago to help women develop their leadership abilities by in part claiming back their inherent right to sexual pleasure forcefully taken away from them. AVEFE is the legal entity of Clitoraid in Burkina Faso. It is involved in the nationwide promotion of the clitoral repair surgery and the prevention of FGM.

It's with great hope and enthusiasm that the women of Africa support the Clitoraid Project!