By Sam Howard

MONROVIA, Feb 11 (IPS) - ''I will definitely send my three daughters to the secret society for circumcision when the war ceases in Northern Lofa County,'' says David Johnson, a die-hard traditionalist.

Lofa County is one of the regions in Liberia where female genital mutilation (FGM) is prevalent but the area is now ravaged by war.

According to Johnson, ''if my daughters, ages 11, seven and four are circumcised, their sexual emotions would be drastically reduced and that will indeed make them to concentrate on their studies for a brighter future and not think on men.'' When asked whether his daughters will have any say in the decision on their circumcision, he shouted, ''no''.

Johnson, a primary school teacher, says he is discussing ''something like this'' with an outsider because he is literate. Traditionally, the subject would not be discussed -- the culture forbids it, he says.

FGM is widespread due to the cultural linkage attached to it -- most of the ethnic groups in Liberia are intertwined when it comes to the practice of circumcision. As a part of the culture, no one is allowed to openly discuss what happens in the secret society referred to in Liberia as ''Sande bush''.

In rural Liberia, people who break the rules and discuss the practice openly with non-members, otherwise known as sinners, can easily be mobbed. And, non-members who openly ridicule or discuss the practice of female circumcision or activities of the secret society are forcibly recruited, penalised or sometimes fined - the government can always acquiesce their action.

Bendu Nimeley, a popular female broadcast journalist, has publicly rebuked those who consider female circumcision as a dangerous practice. She says, ''those ridiculing the act should look beyond the bad aspect of the secret society and consider the education the children acquire to be good caretakers, housewives, and respectful in the society.''

She believes, as an African, it is always good to determine what is best for your child whether they like it or not especially when they are kids. She has vowed to promote the practice even in the execution of her social responsibility as a journalist.

Nonetheless, one advocacy group that has been calling for the eradication of the practice is the Association of Female Lawyers of Liberia (AFELL). Elizabeth Boryennoh, the president, observes that the question of circumcision in Liberia is a sticky issue because 85 percent of the population practice it.

''What we're engaged in now is community sensitisation and education telling the chiefs, elders, and the traditionalists that it is important to allow the girl child to go to school,'' she says.

She says, with this pattern of attitude changing, one can then tell the parents about the need to allow the girl child to decide either to go or not to go to the secret society for the initiation. ''It is going down well in some communities,'' Boryennoh says.

The practice of female circumcision in Liberia is not constitutionally recognised. However, the Constitution recognises all customary laws already in place. But one of the concerns being raised by the female lawyers is based on the fact that the local leaders and the government of Liberia are showing no political will to eradicate the practice of FGM.

Boryennoh says, the traditionalists known as the Zoes have resorted to kidnapping children between the ages of four and 10 for circumcision in Bomi County in Western Liberia. She notes that a similar situation is prevailing in the Sierra Leonean refugee camp in a suburb of Monrovia.

She says, most of these complaints are made only when they visit the various communities to sensitise the population on ''sexual gender-based violence''.

Due to financial constraints, the AFELL, she points out, has been unable to prosecute most of those responsible for the violence against young girls.

In 2000, according to the organisation, the Zoes were discouraged from forcefully recruiting young girls in schools in Bomi County just for circumcision. At the moment, the Zoes are said to have minimised the forceful recruitment of students in Western Liberia.

The Liberian government has only eight months ago established the Ministry of Gender and Development. Before her induction into office as the first minister, D. Musleng Cooper said she was appalled by the gender disparity in Liberia. She said, women are marginalised, have less education and job opportunities.

''My Ministry will endeavour to reduce the gender imbalance and to make men to consider women as partners in the development of the nation,'' she said.

A planner at the Gender Ministry, Mariama Gaytaweh says the new ministry will ensure the regulation of traditional practices so that all harmful ones can be discouraged while the positive practices would be encouraged. She referred particularly to FGM practised by secret society groups in the country.

''Female genital circumcision is violence against women and as such that aspect must be weeded out in spite of the fact that they are traditionally rooted,'' Gaytaweh points out. She indicates that more sensitisation efforts would be exerted throughout the country before implementing any of the new policies on gender development.

It is very unlikely that the Zoes who are mostly found in rural Liberia are aware of the prevalence of the global pandemic, HIV/AIDS. According to health authorities, about 300,000 people in Liberia are HIV positive, while nearly 400 have full-blown AIDS.

But many Liberians tend not to believe that HIV/AIDS exists and that it is in the country. This is probably due to the low level of public education and sensitisation about the disease. As a result, many of these initiators are not perturbed about the usage of modern instruments or whether they are sterile or not. However it is not known whether most of these living with AIDS were infested as a result of female genital mutilation.

Due to the sensitive nature of this traditionally rooted practice, many political leaders use FGM as a populist weapon. President Charles Taylor has always told Liberians to respect and obey the laws of the tradition saying to the Zoes, ''deal with those who violate them and we shall defend you.'' The president is now a member of most of the secret societies and has vowed to uphold and defend them.

As a result, to break the old legacy and the stigma attached to the practice of female circumcision in Liberia would inevitably remain an uphill task in Liberia considering the backing the traditional leaders enjoyed from past governments and continue to enjoy now.(END/IPS/AF/HE/SH/AN/MN/02)