POP. POWER OF THE PUNNANIE. POP

I am interested in women, women and power, women in power, women who yield power over men, i am interested in women, and better yet their most magnanimous element, the PUNNANIE. This was inspired by a conversation my aunt and i had concerning my young cousin who for all purposes likes to share her......well you know what. Now, low self esteem could be one prominent reason, another being that she just enjoys sharing her body, or she has at a very early age just learnt the power of her PUNNANIE in exchange for whatever material thing she deems important in her present teenage life. Queen Eve, mother of all creation, utilized her feminine charm to lure Adam, oh the man that he was, to also bite into the ''forbidden fruit'', and the piece of apple remains lodged in this throat till today. Now, i am been flippant, to all religious people reading this blog bare with me, for my non-heterosexual readers, bare with my hetero-normative perspective- i am getting to the point.

The Punnanie, is used for alliances, the exchange of a beautiful woman forges connections and loyalities that will run for centuries. The Punannie, is used as a destructive tool of war, enter a woman without her consent (rape) and the repercussions is that an entire community has lost its honor and thus considered 'weak'. The Punnanie is the only human organ that can bring upon shame or pride to a family. The Punnanie untouched can be sold for a million dollars on the internet, it is EPIC income generation. The punannie untouched brings honor to a family, a community, a nation. The punnanie can induce madness in a man. The Punnanie is a billlion dollar industry-PORN. The Punnanie is watched, controlled, surveyed, cut, snipped, held, sucked, kissed, licked, loved, mutated, mutilated--divinity sprawled for inspection. The Punnanie is political, is identity, is fluid. The Punnanie, an entry way into the womb of life creation and thus the nucleus of the universe, ancestral, powerfilled, channel into the spiritual, an energy so elusive and yet to tangible that it has merged life and destruction perfectly.

This is for my young female cousin:

 He the young man who seduces you with words and smiles of love but chooses to know your body before he speaks to your mind or spirit is a man who knows the power of your punnanie, your body as creation. He the older man who hails your youth and adorns your with your material desires and is in a state of madness over your vulnerability, your tenderness soft,  your body as a bud yet to bloom, a nectar yet unsucked, he knows the power of your punnanie. He/they know the value of what your posses, but dear do you? Do your know that you can heal, cease wars, born life, love a warrior love that no ammunition can summon, do you know your power? You who seduces the young boy, young man, older man or men WHY do you do so, do you know? How are you using your power for self growth, self elevation, self affirmation of love and divinity? Do you know the power you possess within? The power of your punnanie?

Use it wisely.

fambul dem this is how we do.....

FREETOWN CHRONICLES: YOUTH VS. STATE

........i run into a couple of friends at a resto-bar in town. One of my favourite private spots in the always colourful 'downtown'  city of Freetown. It is raining outside and i am talking about relationships with a friend of mine who has recently engaged his girlfriend of 2 years. His happiness and easiness makes me uneasy, i smirk at his smile, he remains gentle with me and makes another order of roast beef. Amidst our chatter we start talking to a group of people sitting beside our table. Our discussion moves from bumming a smoke to one of politics, youth mobilizatation, development and the mentalities of a younger generation of Sierra-Leoneans. We laugh some more and begin to enjoy each other's  company.

....MARIAMA ADDRESS THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SIERRA-LEONE

I had to process this day before blogging about it. We celebrated our International Women's Day on March 23rd. It was fairly packed, hot and filled with very vocal Sierra-Leonean women who spoke to the issues that plague our society from the perspective of mothers, sisters, daughters, wives and care-takers. Mariama spoke on behalf of young mothers and women. Her story had some in tears, it touched the President as she burst into tears. Her story was heavy and she didn't want her experience of violence to be the stories of other women. She wanted men who abused young girls to get persecuted- she wanted this issue to be made visible and better yet something to be done. As i listened to her semi-scream into the micro-phone, i thought of my 16 year old niece who was pulled out of school because she was been sexually abused by her 60 something year old male teacher. When my aunt spoke out, she was condemned by the community. As Mariama spoke and told her story, i felt de-sensitized, this story has been told too many times in too many ways and i really don't like re-hearing it because i have very little faith that anything other than utterance of reassurances will come out of it. However, we must remain optimistic, the President reassures us that their is a new law to be passed that will hold the proprietors of these crimes responsible. I  then think of men who tell me that they too were sexually abused at a very young age, with no-where to process such an experience, it is internalized and their hyper-sexuality is often relegated to their gender, "boys will be boys". I sigh and continue to take photographs. Mariama is brave. For now, that is enough.

enjoy the photographs!
fambul dem this is how we do....