Lost Youth

This is a story about Female Genital mutilation and its physical and mental consequences on its victims. The story is set in a very remote village in Africa. As people of different tribes came together there were bound to be cultural clashes. The subjects of these clashes ranged from how girls were treated to smaller issues such as grazing lands. For the four brave women caught in the middle of these cultural clashes, life took its course. Immaculate, just twelve when the story begins, was determined to continue with school even on the eve of her marriage - a marriage that was complicated. Manyara, another village girl, struggled to understand what it meant to go through female genital mutilation. Then there was Makandida, married off at twelve against her will - but what could she do? Her parents' death meant she didn't have much choice about her life any more. Her life turned into a nightmare when she developed a medical condition, obstetric fistula, and was abandoned by her husband. Finally, Egifa had to leave her home because of the stigma she bore as the result of an outdated religious ritual. The story explores how these women struggled to try and mend their lives shattered by loved ones.