Breast Ironing – preventing sexual assault and rape or damaging women?

We had never heard about the custom of breast ironing before watching the documentary television series Taboo, which provided an in-depth view into the practice. Breast ironing is mostly practiced in Cameroon, and is described as either the pounding or massaging of young girl’s breasts often with a heated object (such as a wooden pestle) in order to stop or slow the growth of breasts.

This practice is usually carried out by the mother and is said to help prevent sexual abuse and rape, as well as keep young girls in school for as long as possible. It is believed that breast development signal sexual maturity and readiness for sex, and therefore breast ironing may prevent men to sexually assault young Cameroon girls. Breast ironing is however extremely painful and often lead to a multitude of side effects, such as tissue damage, breast cancer and cysts, and may interfere with breast feeding at a later age.

The practice of breast ironing is said to have minimal, if no effect on the number of young girls who are victims of sexual assault and/or rape in Cameroon. What is also interesting is that the behavior of men who rape is not readily discussed, or even detested. Instead, young girls and women are often times forced to undergo the painful practice so that they are hopefully less likely to be sexually assaulted and/or raped. Instead of focusing on men’s roles and responsibilities in regards to rape, painful measures are being forced upon young girls in the hope that it might help protect them against rape.

Breast ironing can be said to fall in the same category as female genital mutilation, which is another form of violence against women. Both practices are not only extremely painful, debilitating and dangerous, but the underlying notion is also that female bodies are inherently defective and dangerous, while at the same time alluring. The female breasts need to be pounded to near non-existence while the genitals need to be cut, altered and cleansed. These practices leave the girl with no choice over her own body and the way that her body looks. The fact that a wide range of side effects is common also reiterates the notion that female suffering is not important in contrast to the desired effects of the practice. The underlying assumption is that women’s bodies are too sexual and need to be altered, again placing blame on women’s biology instead of men’s behaviors and attitudes.

Various forms of violence against women are extremely common and the overall aim is often the same: to control various aspects of women, whether it is the woman’s body, reproduction, mind, character, behavior, reputation or honor. It is troubling and sad that measures aimed at women are employed in order to prevent rape, while little is done to prevent men from raping. Even practices that are supposed to protect girls and women are harmful to them. It often appears as it if is “better” to alter and damage girl’s and women’s bodies than to deal with societal views of women as inferior objects.