FGM return in Central: Panic as cults 'repay debt to grannies'
FGM suspects outside a Mukurwe-ini court on March 5.
What you need to know:
- The outlawed cultural rite had fizzled out in the 1980s after elders agreed to “embrace modernity”.
- The news of eight girls being subjected to the cut in Mukurwe-ini, Nyeri County, two weeks ago, was, therefore, a shocker to many residents.
- In July last year, details of a woman, who had been forced by her husband to undergo circumcision in Kandara, Murang’a County, sent shockwaves in the region.
For more than three decades, female genital mutilation (FGM) was unheard of in Central Kenya.
The outlawed cultural rite had fizzled out in the 1980s after elders agreed to “embrace modernity”.
The news of eight girls being subjected to the cut in Mukurwe-ini, Nyeri County, two weeks ago, was, therefore, a shocker to many residents, particularly gender activists and anti-FGM crusaders.
Five women and two men were arrested on April 4 and subsequently arraigned on suspicion of being involved in FGM.
Near-death experiences
Investigating officer Elizabeth Mwikali told a Nyeri court that they received reports that some girls had been mutilated and rushed to Mukurwe-ini Level 4 Hospital following excessive bleeding.
In July last year, reports of a woman, who had been forced by her husband to undergo circumcision in Kandara, Murang’a County, sent shockwaves in the region. She was admitted to hospital in critical condition.
The incident caused a public outcry, with several groups calling for the arrest of the perpetrators.
In 2020, the Catholic Church was the first to raise the red flag, accusing some cultural groups of encouraging FGM. The church, in a letter signed by retired Nairobi Arch-Bishop John Cardinal Njue, cautioned its parishioners against joining such groups.
Prior to the letter, Cardinal Njue had formed a committee to investigate groups accused of perpetuating the crime. The team established that the “teachings of these cult-like groups include some retrogressive practices such as female circumcision, male chauvinism and subjugation of women.”
The radical cultural groups, said to operate in Kiambu, Murang’a, Nyeri and Laikipia counties, are propagating FGM to allegedly repay what they call Thiiri wa cucu (debt to grandmothers).
New hurdles
Gender and human rights activists are now apprehensive that the return of FGM in the region could strike a major blow against the ongoing national campaign to end the vice by the year end.
The Gikuyu, Embu, Meru Association (Gema) Women Council has condemned the cultural groups and called on the government to take stern measures against them.
Council chairperson Kabura Kabea told Nation.Africa that the reemergence of FGM and other forms of gender-based violence (GBV) in the region is disturbing and unacceptable. She called on Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i to crack down on the sects to protect the rights of women and girls.
“Some cultural groups have emerged in Central Kenya and they are propagating abnormal and outdated cultural practices that are out of sync with human development. We say no to them and will not accept them to thrive in our midst,” said Ms Kabea.
The group further urged the county governments to allocate funds for GBV and FGM prevention and establishment of rescue centres.
Irene Wambui, a member of the council, called on the government to deregister cultic cultural groups.
“These groups, which have turned out to be rogue and are now harming our girls and women, must be banned. The perpetrators should be arrested and made to face the law. It is the work of the state to protect its people, including girls and women,” she said.
Rapid response
The Anti-FGM Board, in conjunction with FIDA-Kenya, late last year held a consultative forum in Murang’a with law enforcement officers and administrators to a plan rapid response.
Board CEO Bernadette Loloju wondered why some people were keen to reintroduce the practice within the Agikuyu community at a time when it has been illegalised and other communities are abandoning it.
“We are relying on the government to ensure FGM is rooted out in the villages. We must safeguard the future of our daughters and sons. The future generation must be safe from this vice and should only read it in history,” said Ms Loloju.
Diana Kamande, a board member, termed it sad that FGM is creeping back about 40 years after the community abandoned it. She said the region must speak in one voice against the practice and support the realisation of the presidential directive that seeks to eradicate FGM by the year end.
A section of the youth has vowed to protect women and girls. Gema Youth Council chairman Douglas Ndonga told Nation.Africa that they will not sit back and watch as women and girls are subjected to the cut.
“As young people, we will protect our mothers and girls in any situation that comes. We will join forces with the government and hunt down members of those cultural groups perpetuating FGM in the area as we know them and shame them before the community and the country,” he said.
Elders speak up
The Kikuyu Council of Elders and the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) have also condemned the reemergence of FGM in parts of the central region.
The elders, in a statement, called upon relevant authorities to take action against perpetrators and ensure victims get justice.
“Our women are beautiful the way they are and we do not need any other surgery to be conducted on them for that matter. It is, therefore, outdated and an affront to the women and their dignity to be circumcised,” said Peter Munga, the secretary general of the elders.
Gladys Chania, a child and adult psychologist, regretted that FGM return is a major setback in the fight against GBV.
“The government must take stringent measures against the perpetrators because it is retrogressive and dangerous. This is getting the country back to the dark days and stalling the fight against FGM,” said Chania.
Eva Komba, a gender and development expert, said the reemergence throws stakeholders involved in fighting the vice back to the drawing board and calls for new strategies and more resources.
“We need to dig deeper to know the push-and-pull factors that are fuelling the reemergence of FGM in an area where it has largely not been practised for decades. Very robust and solid strategies are needed to contain the outlawed cultural practice,” said Ms Komba.
National statistics
According to Unicef, about four million girls and women in Kenya have undergone FGM. Overall, 21 per cent of girls and women aged 15 to 49 have been subjected to the practice.
Kenya banned the practice in 2011, paving the way for the Female Genital Mutilation Act that carries a minimum punishment of three-year imprisonment and a Sh200,000 fine.
Currently, 22 counties are considered FGM hotspots. They include Samburu, Kisii, Nyamira, Narok, Kajiado, West Pokot, Elgeyo Marakwet, Baringo, Isiolo, Tana River, Tharaka Nithi, Taita Taveta, Kwale, Wajir, Mandera and Garrissa.
The fight against FGM has gained momentum following the launch of Eradication of FGM Policy in November 2019 by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
