Nollywood Mother-of-2 Cries Out Over G3nital Mutilation

* At just six years old, nollywood movie maker endured female genital mutilation under her grandmother's supervision.

* The procedure left her with vivid, lifelong memories of agony, no explanation, and only fleeting comfort from her apologetic mother.

* Rooted in generational tradition, the trauma highlights how cultural practices can inflict deep, unspoken wounds on innocent children.

Award-winning Nigerian filmmaker Biodun Stephen has bravely shared her haunting childhood experience with female genital mutilation during an emotional interview on the Diary Of A Naija Girl Podcast.

At six years old, she was taken by her beloved grandmother for what she now recognizes as a deeply traumatic cultural rite.

The day began innocently. “My grandma just said, I mean, I love my grandma. She’s like, let’s go somewhere. So we went to this somewhere. They allowed me to play. They allowed me to play. I even ate food. Made me feel comfortable,” Stephen recalled.

Then came the shower and the instruction to lie down on a mat outside at the woman's place. Without any warning or explanation, the cutting happened.

“The pain was searing to the brain. Yes. I didn’t know what happened to me,” she said, emphasizing the shock that overwhelmed her young mind.

When she returned home, her mother offered tenderness but no real answers. “When I got home, they gave me pain sick. She rubbed my body like sorry my baby. And that was it,” Stephen described.

The absence of conversation left the little girl to grapple alone with confusion and suffering.

The memory remains razor-sharp decades later.

She recounted, “I remember it vividly. Deep pain. Vividly. As I’m talking to you, I’m seeing the picture. That afternoon.”