Breast ironing , also known as breast flattening , [ 1 ] is the pounding and massaging of a pubescent girl's breasts , using hard or heated objects, to try to make them stop developing or disappear. It is mostly practiced in parts of Cameroon , where boys and men may think that girls whose breasts have begun to grow are ready for sex.
Other tools used include leaves, [ 1 ] bananas, coconut shells, [ 2 ] grinding stones, ladles, spatulas, [ 4 ] and hammers heated over coals. Breast ironing may be derived from the ancient practice of breast massage.
The survey also reported that it is most commonly practiced in urban areas, where mothers fear their daughters could be more exposed to sexual abuse. A journal suggested that social norms in Cameroon result in women lacking bodily autonomy, as Cameroonian women are not socialized to negotiate safer sex practices, while Cameroonian men are encouraged to engage in polygyny and to take concubines. This lack of bodily autonomy contributes to an increased incidence of breast ironing, sexual coercion, and the normalization of early marriage practices.
For parents who practice child marriage, by ironing the breasts of the prospective bride, they can continue receiving goods and services from their in-laws. A report suggested that the rise in the incidence of breast ironing is due to the earlier onset of puberty , caused by dietary improvements in Cameroon over the previous 50 years. The later age of marriage may be due to changed social norms that allow girls and women to attend school through university and to hold jobs in the formal sector; previously, girls entered married life young, wed to an older man without informed consent.
One of the only full-length reports on breast ironing dates from , when a Cameroonian NGO sponsored by GIZ called it "a harmful traditional practice that has been silenced for too long". There are fears that the practice has spread to the Cameroonian diaspora, for example to Britain.
