West Pokot girls fleeing to Uganda after cut
ActionAid Kenya Country Interim Executive Director, Susan Otieno (facing camera), talks to girls rescued from FGM and early marriages at Komesi Resource Centre in West Pokot County on December 08, 2020.
What you need to know:
- In West Pokot County, thousands of girls may not report to school in January after they secretly underwent the cut and sought shelter in the neighbouring Uganda before they are married off.
- Outbreak of Covid-19 has pushed girls back to their homes, exposing them to the cut.
- Action Aid Kenya exits West Pokot after constructing resource centre that created a learning environment for girls out of school where they learned tailoring and beadwork, enabling them to provide for their families.
The country is likely to miss out on its target to end Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) by 2022 as more girls undergo the cut. This is after schools were closed early this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In West Pokot County, thousands of girls may not report to school in January after they secretly underwent the cut and sought shelter in the neighbouring Uganda before they are married off.
“It is no doubt that hundreds if not thousands of school going girls below the age of 18, have been circumcised since the outbreak of coronavirus,” said Susan Otieno, the Interim Executive Director ActionAid Kenya.
President Uhuru Kenyatta has in the recent past directed relevant government agencies to ensure the FGM law is enforced and that action is taken against perpetrators of the outdated vice.
Speaking at Komesi Resource Centre, a home for girls who have escaped FGM and early marriage in Kacheliba, West Pokot County yesterday, Ms Otieno said Covid-19 has dealt a blow to the fight against the vice.
The event marked the phasing out ceremony of the ActionAid Kenya activities in the region after more than 13 years.
Outbreak of Covid-19
“As stakeholders spearheading anti-FGM campaigns in this country, we were comfortable when our girls were in school. But the outbreak of Covid-19 has pushed them back to their homes, exposing them to the cut,” added Ms Otieno.
Kenya’s law on the Prohibition of FGM – and other legal tools that forbid various forms of sexual and gender-based violence, including the Sexual Offences Act, Counter-Trafficking in Persons Act and Children Act – imposes severe penalties against perpetrators of FGM.
Ms Susan Alukulem, the chairlady Komesi Women’s Network (KWN) that operates in West Pokot, said they were unable to accommodate all the girls at the facility.
“It is unfortunate we have not been able to accommodate all our 59 girls at the rescue centre because of the Covid-19 restrictions aimed at curbing its spread. This has seen most of them undergo the cut and flee to Uganda after which they come back after some time and get married,” she added.
Anti-FGM and early marriages jig: Ms Otieno (centre in red), is joined by residents of Kongelai in West Pokot County in a jig during the organisation’s phase out ceremony at Komesi Resource Centre.
This, she noted, may cause some girls never to realise their dreams in life.
“We are now taking FGM sensitisation programs to local radio stations so that we can save more girls,” she said.
She urged the county governments to put up more rescue centres that will accommodate more girls escaping from the vice.
Ms Otieno said they had constructed classrooms, dormitories, dining halls, staffrooms, bore halls in various schools, as well as maternity wings during their tenure in the region.
“The resource centre provided a space for sustainability for Komesi Women’s Network and created a learning environment for girls out of school where they learned tailoring and beadwork, enabling them to provide for their families,” she explained.
Through the partnership, households have enhanced their livelihoods especially the women whose dependency on their husbands has reduced and they are instead, helping the men develop their homes.
Poultry farming
The women now have bank accounts while men have bought motorcycles for commercial purposes and built better houses from proceeds of poultry farming.
Ms Otieno noted that Pokot Poultry Farmers have also enhanced their membership, building it into a stable cooperative society.
“Through this partnership with other donors, we have been able to raise the numbers of girls’ enrolment, retention and transition in schools through the support channelled in schools on construction and sensitization projects. Strong linkages have been initiated between primary partners and the West Pokot County government, as well as national government departments for continued engagements on mutual areas of interest,” explained Ms Otieno.
The region has also seen a marked reduction of FGM and other forms of violence against women and girls through the collaborations with stakeholders such as the local administration, the police and county departments.
As ActionAid exits, those left to run the program say they will engage the West Pokot County Assembly when they resume sittings next year, on how best to come up with a firm law to fight the vice.
