[2][3] The practice is typically performed by a close female figure to the victim, traditionally fulfilled by a mother, grandmother, aunt, or female guardian who will say she is trying to protect the girl from sexual harassment and rape,[3] to prevent early pregnancy that would tarnish the family name,[4] to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted infections such as HIV/AIDS,[5] or to allow the girl to pursue education rather than be forced into early marriage.
[9] The ironing practice is generally performed around dusk or dawn in a private area such as the household kitchen to prevent others from seeing the victim or becoming aware of the process, particularly fathers or other male figures.
In an interview, one human rights activist stated that parents who resist under-aged marriages "usually point to the fact that the girlʼs breasts have not grown meaning that she is not yet ready for sexual intercourse.
"[5] A 2008 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.
[citation needed] Women who delay marriage in pursuit of education and career are more likely to be financially independent later in life, whereas girls who become pregnant are often forced to drop out of school and forgo formal employment.
[1] One of the only full-length reports on breast ironing dates from 2011, when a Cameroonian NGO sponsored by GIZ called it "a harmful traditional practice that has been silenced for too long".
The practice ranges dramatically in its severity, from using heated leaves to press and massage the breasts, to using a scalding grinding stone to crush the budding gland.
[1] The Child Rights Information Network (CRIN) reports the delay of breast milk development after giving birth, endangering the life of newborns.
[1] Some consider the practice to be an emerging human rights issue, recognized as an act of gender-based violence as breast ironing affects women and girls regardless of race, class, religion, socioeconomic background, or age.
[citation needed] In regards to recent opposition, in 2000, the United Nations (UN) identified breast ironing as one of five intersecting forms of discrimination and overlooked crimes against women.
[17] According to one Cameroonian lawyer, if a medical doctor determines that damage has been caused to the breasts, the perpetrator can be punished by up to three years in prison, provided the matter is reported within a few months.