L
LequteMan
Guest
The Nation has a piece about Abuja communities where the practice of killing twins (and albinos) at birth still holds sway.
Here are excerpts from the report:
Mama Habiba was said to have lost three sets of twins to this culture. She was married to a Bassa Kuomo man, with whom she had three sets of twins, and other children. The three sets of twins died as a result of this practice.
Aside twins, multiple birth infants such as triplets, quadruplets and quintuplets are also endangered. The same fate awaits infants whose mothers die during or shortly after their birth, as they are considered to be possessing dark powers that killed their mothers and must therefore die. Infants who are born with certain physical disabilities like Down syndrome, cleft lips, deformed hands and legs, are considered unacceptable – same for albinos.
Reports have it that poisoning with herbs is one very common way of eliminating the unwanted babies. Other methods include, using a calabash to cover the face of the infant until he suffocates. In other instances, they are left unattended and allowed to die from hunger.
Full report
Here are excerpts from the report:
Mama Habiba was said to have lost three sets of twins to this culture. She was married to a Bassa Kuomo man, with whom she had three sets of twins, and other children. The three sets of twins died as a result of this practice.
Aside twins, multiple birth infants such as triplets, quadruplets and quintuplets are also endangered. The same fate awaits infants whose mothers die during or shortly after their birth, as they are considered to be possessing dark powers that killed their mothers and must therefore die. Infants who are born with certain physical disabilities like Down syndrome, cleft lips, deformed hands and legs, are considered unacceptable – same for albinos.
Reports have it that poisoning with herbs is one very common way of eliminating the unwanted babies. Other methods include, using a calabash to cover the face of the infant until he suffocates. In other instances, they are left unattended and allowed to die from hunger.
Full report
