Breast ironing is a secretive ritual to make women less attractive to the opposite sex. The ritual was originally carried out in Africa. Almost always carried out by the girl’s mother, the ritual is done in the privacy of their own homes. As a part of Breast ironing, girls have their breasts beaten up, burnt, and massaged so as to stop them from developing.      

Sky News reported that a women named Lara was subjected to mutilation, as she reached adolescence. She said that, "They put the spatula on the fire and then they press it on the breast and yes, it hurts. Then it goes weak, it's like melting, fat melting and you can feel the breast going back… one of my breasts is bigger than the other one."

It is believed that nearly thousand girls suffered this violent ritual while living in Britain. The Conservative MP Jake Berry requested for a ‘Freedom of Information’ that revealed that nearly one fourth children's services are not trained for dealing with the practice. Moreover, 15% police forces were not aware of the existence of this brutal form of mutilation. Mr Berry is calling on the Government to make the ‘breast ironing’ practice a criminal offense.

As a part of the ritual, children's breasts are burnt using heated objects. Then bands are tightly tied onto their chests. Experts say that the ritual potentially causes abscesses, cysts, and even breast cancer.

Came Women and Girls Development Organisation founder Geraldine Yenwo told Sky News that "A lot of them have inverted nipples, they're not able to breast feed their children. Emotionally and psychologically, your self-esteem is very badly affected. Physically, some of them have one large and one flattened breast."

- Sumana