Circumcised

Maybe I should name this: the knife, or traditions traditions, or the pain of being an African girl. Or a funnier title; we laughed until we cried Right after primary school I visited a girlfriend of mine who was ailing I grew up with this girl, we played those kids games together and went to school together My mum and her mum were good friends She had been cut so as a tradition, she had to be taken care of as an invalid until she healed She was happy to see, I was happy to see her She was covered with a leso since she couldn't wear any tight clothing She told me of her experience, about this rights of passage She was proud of it She was ready to be more mature Her older sisters had done it too She talked of the pain, but said it was worth it She asked me when I was going to get my cut I hesitated Then answered, "I don't know. i don't think my parents would allow that" She was okay with that answer since not all the girls in the village were getting the cut There were some very traditional parents who upheld that tradition and their daughters went under the knives same time as their sons did And there were parents like mine, who were totally against that...... Even though they felt it had some advantages -To tame the woman- I remember my mum threatening me and my sisters that she will get us circumcised if we would not obey her Even refusing to do simple chore, would ignite this threat That day I went to visit my friend, we had tea and mandazis, Talked about boys Talked about highschool and the future and laughed a lot