FGM still rife in Kenya

Written By:KNA,    Posted: Thu, Dec 29, 2011

Young girls below fifteen years of age are forced to face the knife at t their tender age unable to fight for their rights(File Picture) Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is still practiced in some communities despite spirited campaigns to safe the girl child from the retrogressive traditional practice. Among the Maasai community, it is done secretly by for fear of being arrested by the authorities because it has been outlawed due to the dangers it poses to the innocent girls some of whom have died as a result of the barbaric practice. The belief among the community  that it is a rite of passage for young girls to womanhood is far fetched as it only helps to cause trauma among the young girls who under go the cut  in case they survive the nerve wrecking ordeal. Young girls below fifteen years of age are forced to face the knife at t their tender age unable to fight for their rights. Sharing of cutting blades is common during the cut thus encouraging the spread of HIV/AIDS and other urinary and vaginal infections besides hemorrhage which may lead to death. According to the Maasai Council of Elders office manager Mr. Emmanuel Olor Maitai, three quarters of the girls in the Maasai community undergo the rite especially in the remote parts  of Transmara and Loita in Narok South districts. He says, its is unfortunate that immediately a girl recovers from  FGM , she is married off to a man either young or old enough to be her granddaughter  depending on the choice of parents who normally arrange for such illegal marriages in a bid to secure dowry. Narrating her ordeal to KNA, one of the girls who escaped the knife Jane Ntoop said  her father withdrew her from school in 2008 when she was in class seven. "On our way home, we stopped at  Ntulele Shopping Center where my father bought  lesos and  "sakira"- beads for me  in  preparation for the cut," Jane recalled. She boldly said no! to the father`s plans saying she was opposed to the FGM  and responsibilities that go with it as she feared she would be married off soon  after recovery. "I tried to explain to my father all that I knew about the dangers FGM but he slapped me and told me to shut up," she narrated amid sobs. Two days later, at the eve of my circumcision, her mother sent her to a traditional barber to  shave her hair with a razor, according to the customs which  dictated that a girl  should be shaved clean before circumcision. "I complied without any resistance and returned home after the shave only to be welcomed by a group of traditional singers and dancers who were singing traditional songs in my honor," she said. She proceeded to the kitchen and requested for food claiming that she wanted to sleep early and wait for the knife the following day. Oblivious of what Jane was planning to do, the mother served her with food as the dancers went away as requested. Few hours later, an old woman in the name of the traditional circumciser arrived and asked to spend the night with her in a guest room according to the customs. "I refused and insisted on sleeping alone and after consultations between my mother and the circumciser, I was allowed to sleep alone as I  planned on how to evade the knife," she said. At around 3.30 am, Jane escaped while everybody else was dead asleep and briefly hid herself in a bush before she went away to unknown destination without fear of being attacked by wild animals. "I would rather be killed by wild beasts than face the circumciser's knife," she vowed as she passed through bushes and thickets. However, on her way, she recalled about a woman preacher who talked about dangers of FGM at Tasaru Girls Rescue Center located few kilometers away from Narok town. Jane walked for more than three hours to reach the home where she met the security guard who informed  her that the director of the center was away  and she had to wait for her. The watchman took her to a neighbor who took care of her until  the director arrived later that evening. "She rescued me from the jaws of FGM and placed me at Tasaru Girls Rescue Center where I live to date," she proudly says. She says that when her parents learnt of her where about, they kept quiet as she continued with her education. Her parents visit her as she also visits them occasionally and she does not regret the decision she made. Jane is currently in form three at Maasai Girls' High School and aspires to be a lawyer in future. She thanks God for giving her courage to run away and  the Managing Director Tasaru madam Agnes Pareiyo who established the center to rescue the helpless girls.                                                 Jane advices  the Maasai Girls is to read and understand the constitution so that they can  fight for their  rights. She also advises the community to embrace modernity and shun outdated practices saying it is the only way to bring development in the area. Following the rampant  cases of FGM, the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) has  also launched a programme on alternative rite of passage where professional counselors train girls on womanhood. In early December 2011, 35 girls graduated from the  PCEA  institution after undergoing a two week training. During the rite of passage ceremony  at the church in Narok town District Commissioner (DC) Mr. Godffrey Kigochi congratulated them  for undergoing the training and urged them to salvage  other girls  from the circumciser's knife. Mr. Kigochi called upon parents in the district  to choose the alternative rite of passage instead of  the outdated practice which poses a health risks to the girls.