Outrage as viral video shows Morans dragging nine-year-old girl from classroom for 'beading'
Beads on display at a shop in Maralal town, Samburu County on October 25, 2022. Girls who are subjected to beading are often exposed to multiple violations of rights that include early marriages and unwanted pregnancies.
What you need to know:
- A viral video showing Samburu Morans violently dragging a nine-year-old Grade One pupil from her classroom for the cultural practice of "beading" has sparked widespread outrage.
A viral video showing Samburu Morans violently dragging a nine-year-old Grade One pupil from her classroom has sparked widespread condemnation of the harmful cultural practice of "beading" — where a Moran marks a girl as "taken."
The footage from Nairimirimo Primary School in Samburu County shows the terrified child being forcibly removed as she screams for help. Witnesses say she was then brutally beaten by the Morans in front of teachers whilst her fellow pupils watched.
Samburu West MP Naisula Lesuuda condemned the incident, demanding urgent intervention from law enforcement and child protection agencies.
"A young girl was violently pulled out of class by Morans for beading, a harmful cultural practice that strips girls of their right to safety and education," she said on Thursday. "This practice must not happen in any Kenyan school, not in the 21st Century. Girls are not property. Beading is abuse, not culture. We must end it now."
Jane Meriwas, Executive Director of Samburu Women Trust, warned such incidents are becoming alarmingly frequent in remote villages across Samburu County.
"Recently, a young woman was brutally beaten and left for dead — and the perpetrator is still at large," she said. "Now, at Nairimirimo Primary School — a place that should be a safe space for every child — an incident of abuse has occurred. Imagine the trauma this has inflicted on the innocent children who witnessed it."
Rescue efforts underway
Samburu County Commissioner John Cheruiyot confirmed the incident and said efforts are underway to locate the girl, whose whereabouts remain unknown.
"We do not condone such incidents. A security team is out to rescue the young girl. We are also seeking to arrest the perpetrators and arraign them in court to deter such incidents in future," he said.
Officers from the children's department, local chiefs and security personnel are leading the rescue operation.
Harmful cultural practice
In Samburu culture, beading prepares girls mentally for future marriage and signifies they are "taken."
However, girls subjected to beading face forced early marriages, unwanted pregnancies, and exposure to sexually transmitted infections including HIV/Aids, as some Morans bead multiple girls.
The practice, carried out in remote villages away from security oversight, has long denied girls education, contributing to high illiteracy rates amongst women in Samburu. Despite the severity of such assaults, incidents remain largely underreported.
"We urgently need immediate, coordinated action to ensure all those responsible are brought to justice," Meriwas said. "It is our duty to protect our children and reaffirm that violence will not be tolerated anywhere, especially not in our schools."
