Brave girls from Tharaka Nithi County say no to FGM

Every year, adolescent girls from different communities face the threat of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), a rite of passage ceremony that is mostly conducted during December holidays.

Although studies have proven that cultural practises such as female circumcision cause the victims a lot of harm, some communities continue to carry out these practises behind closed doors and with hushed mouths.

However, there is some good news.

Last year, an organisation called ChildFund Kenya partnered with the Department of Child Services in Tharaka Nithi County to create the Jukumu Letu Project that saw more than 100 adolescent girls undergo alternative training.

In the training that began in July, the girls participated in life-skill workshops, and were equipped with knowledge on how to lead productive lives, achieve their goals and fuel their ambitions.

They were sensitised on how to stay safe and steer clear of harmful practises such as FGM, early marriages and premarital sex.

CELEBRATIONS

The second part of the training was held in December and lasted two weeks, the climax being a graduation ceremony that celebrated the girls for completing the programme.

Parents and community members came out in large numbers to receive the girls.

Nation gender desk attended the ceremony and spoke to a few of the girls.

“FGM is a terrible practice that puts the lives of young girls at risk. During the training, I learnt that some consequences of this practice reveal themselves later in life, and include complications during child birth," said

Mercy Kamenyi, a pupil at Matiri Boarding School.

"I hope to be the first woman governor of Tharaka Nithi and to do away with this bad practice once and for all."

NO LOVE

Penina Gatawa, a Class Six pupil at Utirini Primary School, said the circumcision of girls can only be carried out by parents who do not love their daughters.

“The practice inflicts wounds on a girl’s body. It destroys her intimate parts. I cannot agree to undergo such a terrible practice. I am working hard to become a lawyer and fight for children’s rights, especially girls who are subjected to acts of injustice like FGM."

Eleven-year-old Everlyn Gacumbi, a Class Five pupil at Kijege Primary School, noted that sometimes parents, relatives and community members force girls to undergo the illegal rite of passage.

“Circumcising girls robs them of their future. Most of them end up dropping out of school to get married. It is sad that some adults continue to support this harmful rite of passage,” said the girl, who aspires to be a teacher.

At the end of the celebrations the brave girls' faces were beaming, having taken a firm stand against a retrogressive cultural practice and chosen to protect their future.