How to win the war on FGM in Kenya

By James Ang’awa, Acting National Director, World Vision Kenya

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is one of the major forms of violence affecting vulnerable girls in Kenya. The practice is common among marginalised communities, where such traditions, as well as others like child marriage, are still widespread.

A 2017 baseline study conducted by Unicef indicated that the prevalence of FGM among girls and women aged between 10 and 49 years in the Somali, Rendille, Pokot, Samburu and Maasai communities is 96 percent, 78 percent, 74 percent, 72 percent and 51 percent respectively.

Despite its continuous existence, FGM has no health benefits. Instead, it can cause adverse health effects such as severe bleeding, life-threatening infections, childbirth complications, problems with passing urine, as well as an increased risk of newborn deaths. It also stops girls from completing their education and achieving their full potential in life.

Moreover, practices such as FGM and child marriage deny girls and women the opportunity to participate effectively in nation-building. Yet, the participation of both genders – men and women – is crucial for the country's development. This is why it is paramount for Kenya to put an end to these forms of gender-based violence.

Already, Kenya has made great strides in the fight against FGM. The practice has been outlawed and is thus punishable. The issue is also a matter of priority for the country's top leadership. Indeed, both President Uhuru Kenyatta and First Lady Margaret Kenyatta have been at the forefront of initiatives aimed at ending FGM.

Despite the progress made, we need to continue creating awareness about the harms of FGM so that people can know that such practices have no place in society. Many organisations have partnered with the government to make this goal a reality.

As a child-focused organisation, World Vision has been at the forefront of advocacy initiatives aimed at ending FGM in high-risk communities. The focus is on child rights clubs in schools where children are educated about FGM and other child protection issues. They are empowered to shun such practices and know where they can seek help and support, to avoid being subjected to FGM by their families or community members.

World Vision also promotes Alternative Rights of Passage (ARP) ceremonies, which allow girls to transition into womanhood through alternative methods, without being forced to undergo FGM and child marriage, as per the cultural beliefs of communities where these practices are rife.

During the ARP ceremonies, girls are initiated into adulthood through mentorship and education on sexual reproductive health and child rights. They are also encouraged to believe in their abilities and self-worth, which boosts their self-esteem. The girls are further encouraged to embrace fundamental life skills or values such as honesty, unity, optimism, hard work, and the love for education. In the end, the ceremony enables them to have a new perception of what adulthood means, as opposed to viewing it from a traditional lens, which emphasises on FGM as the hallmark for adulthood.

Since most of the cutting happens during school holidays, the ARP ceremonies are often scheduled around the same time to counter it and protect girls from harm.

Part of the uniqueness of these ARP ceremonies is the fact that boys are also allowed to participate. This gives them an opportunity to learn about the devastating effects of FGM, and empowers them to also become anti-FGM champions at an early age.

The involvement of boys and men in the FGM fight is very important as they knowingly or unknowingly play a key role in the perpetuation of the practice. For instance, in communities where FGM is rife, men are socialised to believe that good and responsible wives are those who have been circumcised. This drives and sustains the demand for FGM, as girls or women will choose to embrace it for fear of losing husbands and becoming childless.

In communities that practise FGM, it is men who usually identify suitors and ensure that their daughters are circumcised so they can be married off in exchange of the bride price that increases their wealth. It is also the male elders who are the custodians of traditions and cultural practices (such as FGM and child marriage) that define these communities. This, therefore, reinforces the immense contribution that men can make in ending FGM.

Indeed, World Vision, in partnership with the government and organisations such as Unicef and UNFPA, have initiated grassroots programmes that target the men and elders to become anti-FGM advocates.

These efforts have borne fruit and led to historic commitments such as the Kisima Declaration to End FGM, by Samburu elders. The declaration was presided over by President Kenyatta in March 2021. It followed another declaration made a month earlier by Pokot elders from Kenya and Uganda, that was presided over by senior government officials. Its aim was to end the cross-border practice of FGM. In 2019, at an event convened by the President at State House, elders from counties where FGM is rampant also declared to work towards ending the practice.

As an emergency measure for protecting girls at risk of FGM from their families or caregivers, World Vision supports the operation of rescue centres in different parts of the country, where children fleeing FGM and other forms of child abuse can seek refuge as efforts are made to address the challenge and to facilitate a safe return of the affected children to their families and communities.

Through its livelihood programmes, World Vision also supports affected communities to establish and sustain thriving income-generation activities, which improve their economic status, and thus reduce their vulnerability to harmful practices like FGM that many families subject their children to so as to increase their wealth and escape poverty.

Above all, it is important that Kenya strengthens its legal and justice system to ensure that all perpetrators of FGM and other forms of violence against children are brought to book. This will help prevent many people from abusing children.