Smoke is wafting over the air, as Yamah Torkpa stirs the pot of food, she's preparing for the workers harvesting her rice. As one of the female zoes known for circumcising teen girls, a local practice known as Female Genital Mutination, Torkpa is late on her harvest due to her business with the initiation of over five hundred girls months ago.
But Torkpa is already devastated by the news that President Joseph Boakai has submitted a bill to the House of Represenative to permanently ban FGM, a cultural activity she has practiced all her life.
"It's bad," she said. "We don't want it to be banned." As a traditionalist leader, Torkpa says FGM has been used as a way of teaching young girls about their culture. According to her, banning it means the "culture will die."
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In remote Vetesu, Lofa County--Torkpa's birthplace and home, where formal education is limited to just three functioning classrooms -- ancient cultural rites like FGM are primarily passed down from mothers or grandmothers to ensure continuity. This traditional authority now faces an unprecedented challenge: the permanent ban bill submitted by President Boakai.
The timing of the bill coincides with an existing, temporary restriction that currently halts all Sande bush schools -- the sites where FGM is carried out -- until January 2026, building momentum for the President's pledge at the U.N. General Assembly to permanently criminalize the practice.
In Liberia, the figures underscore the deep entrenchment of the practice: about one-third (38%) of women between the ages of 15 and 49 have been cut, according to UNICEF data, with prevalence rates as high as 70% in certain rural counties. Globally, the figure is estimated at 230 million.
The bill immediately sparked a legislative firestorm, highlighting the delicate tension between cultural preservation and human rights reform.
Some male lawmakers have openly campaigned against the bill's passage. Representative Gizzie Kollince of Lofa County's District #4 was among the most vocal opponents.
"Why can't they call homosexuals, transgender, and tattoos harmful -- instead of our culture?" he fumed.
Conversely, other lawmakers, particularly female representatives, have strongly defended the President's position. Representative Moima Briggs-Mensah reminded her colleagues that cultural preservation must never come at the expense of human life or dignity.
"It's important to balance our traditional values with modernization and human rights," she said. "Some of these practices cause lifelong trauma and violate international human rights principles. We must have the courage to evolve."
Civil society advocates and rights groups have long argued that FGM -- a blanket term for the mutilation of female genitalia without medical purpose -- represents one of the most serious violations of women's rights in Liberia. The practice, traditionally carried out by the Sande secret society, can lead to severe health complications, including hemorrhage, infections, infertility, and even death.
Despite Liberia's 2018 executive order banning FGM for minors, no comprehensive national law has yet criminalized the practice. Rights advocates, therefore, see President Boakai's bill, known as the Women and Girls Protection Act of 2025, as a historic opportunity to align Liberia's laws with its international obligations.
Civil society groups are capitalizing on this momentum. Miatta Garmai Darwolor, Executive Director, SisterAid Liberia, presenting a petition to the National Legislature, stated: "We are here as the women of Liberia to present our petition to the National Legislature calling for the passage of the Women and Girls Protection Act of 2025... While the Sande society is one of Liberia's most indigenous traditional practices, certain practices associated with it, such as female genital mutilation, pose serious risks and violate the rights of women and girls."
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The Speaker of the House, Richard Nagbe Koon acknowledged the petition and assured the advocates of legislative commitment: "We received it a few weeks back from the President; we sent it to the committee room... The committee was given a two-week mandate to get back to plenary with a preliminary report for lawmakers to go back to their constituents to be able to consult them before making a decision."
He offered a personal assurance of his commitment to the bill, stating, "I am a father of five girls and I know what you people are going through and I can assure you my colleagues will stand by me to make sure your rights are protected. By the grace of God, we will be able to pass this Act before we close this term."
The controversy highlights the intense political pressure and cultural sensitivity surrounding the bill, but the Speaker's public declaration provides a strong indication that the Act is now positioned for a potential legislative victory, backed by civil society groups.
