Intensify war on female ‘cut’ to wipe it out
Participants march in Eldoret Town during the launch of the Girl Generation Campaign to end Female Genital Mutilation on December 10, 2014.
What you need to know:
- This retrogressive and oppressive cultural practice is mostly undertaken on girls before puberty
- The perpetrators of this heinous act must be brought to book.
The interdiction of 10 chiefs in Migori County for condoning female genital cutting in their areas of jurisdiction is a good move.
The prolonged closure of schools, occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic, has given leeway to perpetrators of the cut in areas where the cultural rite is deep-seated.
The ritual has profoundly affected many of our girls and is rampant in the pastoral communities. Experts say an estimated 200 million women today have undergone the procedure.
It’s disheartening that sometimes, due to lack of medical facilities and trained health personnel, the practice is done in unhygienic conditions that are bereft of anaesthetic medicines.
The situation is aggravated by the fact that the circumciser uses such crude instruments as scissors, knives, razorblades and even pangas to carry out the egregious activity, in disregard of the health and safety of the victim.
Traditional circumciser
It is not uncommon for the traditional circumciser to use the same instrument on several girls, hence exacerbating the transmission of HIV/Aids, STDs, STIs and, worse, Covid-19. Sadly, some girls succumb to the ensuing excessive bleeding.
This retrogressive and oppressive cultural practice is mostly undertaken on girls before puberty — seven to 14 years old — when they are supposed to be in school and cannot make a decision. For the poor families, the ‘cut’ girls are married off to opulent, much older men, which puts an end to their education.
But despite the enactment of the Anti-FGM law and President Kenyatta’s directive to end the vice by 2022, it is practiced publicly in some communities. This practice must not be condoned. It is not only illegal, but immoral. It’s the worst form of sexual and gender-based violence.
The Anti-FGM board must rise to the occasion and stem this abhorrent practice and advocate alternative rites of passage. The perpetrators of this heinous act must be brought to book.
