CommonSenz

The first time I came across the subject of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), was when I heard Khadija Gbla, a lady from Sierra Leone, deliver a very hard-hitting talk on Ted Talk show. The talk was titled “My mother’s strange definition of empowerment”. Khadija’s narration of her firsthand experience of FGM made me cringe but what left me thoroughly bemused was the fact that this practice was believed to be a step towards “empowerment”. By her own admission, Khadija’s mother admits that she had put young Khadija through FGM. She iterates, “ Yes, I did. I did it for your own good. It was in your best interest. Your grandmother did it to me, and I did it to you. It's made you a woman. You're empowered, Khadija .” So what is FGM? FGM involves cutting or removing a part or all of female’s external genitalia.   It is practiced on children either at a very young age or just at the cusp of puberty. The World Health Organization classifies

Is Valentine Day more about money than emotion? The question will perhaps offend those who swear by their unstinting love, and for whom money and love are non-relatable objects. However, a lot of people have to count the money for their love rather than count only on their love. A few weeks back, I came across an article that spoke about the economics of romance and how youngsters on the look out for love were being priced out of the dating market. Love and romance are commodities, which have to be bought and the stakes are indeed high. It is not a place for mortals with shallow pockets; they could end up sucking their thumb, literally. It might seem harsh and everyone might not agree with me, but modern day romance and dating are about everything besides love; maybe not in entirety but certainly in the majority. Valentine’s day nowadays is about providers and receivers. Large and small enterprises grab this opportunity to act as providers and end up making bi