Call for new approaches to the war on FGM, SGBV
Child rights defenders say the anti-FGM progress is slow, hence the need to fast-track campaigns.
What you need to know:
- In 2019, the government announced that it was determined to eradicate FGM by the end of this year, but the vice remains prevalent in hotspot counties.
- The fear of being stigmatised by peers and society is making girls in rural areas undergo this outlawed ritual secretly.
Child rights defenders are calling for a shift in the campaign against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) to rope in single men and elders and not just focus on women and girls.
Speaking during a sexual and gender-based violence event (SGBV) in Laisamis Sub-County, Marsabit County, the activists noted that the progress towards eradicating this vice has been slow, hence the need to change the approach. In 2019, the government announced that it was determined to eradicate FGM by the end of this year, but the vice remains prevalent in hotspot counties.
The fear of being stigmatised by peers and society is making girls in rural areas undergo this outlawed ritual secretly.
“You will advise a young girl not to undergo the cut, but there is so much societal and peer pressure, top among them being warned that unless she undergoes the cut, she will never get a husband. It is time efforts are made to reach out to young men from our patriarchal pastoral society that uncircumcised women make good wives as well,” said Ms Dorcas Tuiyan.
Pupils targeted
Ms Tuiyan, married and a mother of two despite having evaded the cut, said she has taken upon herself to speak to morans (young community warriors) and young girls in her Rendile community on the adverse effects of FGM.
Ms Rose Orguba, another child rights activist, said despite efforts by stakeholders, danger has been looming this long December holiday as schoolgirls are targeted for FGM and others have been at risk of being violation.
“It is unfortunate that young men will lure young girls to sex and impregnate them, then go scot-free while the young mother will carry the burden for the rest of her life. In the absence of a law court or a children’s officer here, the cases are resolved by elders where a fine is imposed on the offender, but nobody is concerned with the plight of the girl who will be forced to drop out of school and probably get HIV infection,” said Mr Orguba.
According to a report released by the Ministry of Health mid-this year, Aids-related deaths have declined in the last 20 years but at least 98 new HIV cases were recorded every week among adolescents aged 10 to 19.
Kenya also has the third highest teenage pregnancy rate in the world, with one in every five girls aged 15 to 19 being mothers or pregnant with their first child.
Land donated for rights centre
The organiser of the event, Ms Margaret Miraiyion from Pastoral People’s Initiative, announced a donation of a family plot in the town for human rights defenders to put up an office where cases of SGBV can be reported and addressed.
“My mother Kurantan Kutukai was killed on this spot 34 years ago through gender violence orchestrated by close family members and the suspects were arrested briefly then set free without being prosecuted.
"In her memory and to minimise such incidents in future, I have donated this abandoned piece of land to any human rights organisation willing to construct an office,” said Ms Super as she led others in placing flowers on where her late mother’s house stood.
A reformed circumciser, Ms Cecilia Lenguyaiya, said she quit the practice after a girl died during the ritual.
“I witnessed a girl die in the hands of a colleague during circumcision and from that day I quit. Now that it is done in a secretive, unhygienic environment, there is danger of the girls getting infections or even the circumciser getting infected and transmitting the same to other girls,” said the elderly woman.
Area chief Augustine Super said he receives at least 17 cases related to SGBV every month, including physical assault on women by their husbands. A recent case he said is where a woman was battered by her spouse for failing to conceive.
