'Shun FGM to own a car:' Class teacher's advice that inspired Jebii Kilimo's girl rights advocacy
Former Gender CAS Jebii Kilimo. She has been a staunch campaigner against female genital mutilation.
What you need to know:
- Former Gender CAS says that her perception of FGM changed when her Standard Four class teacher cautioned girls against being mutilated.
- She says the words 'fell on fertile ground' and she was motivated to concentrate on her education.
Linah Jebii Kilimo is not new to the public limelight. She has been steadfast in the war on female genital mutilation (FGM). Many are, however, not aware of her life on that journey.
The former two-term legislator remembers that she had to escape from facing mutilation while she was in Form Three.
Also read: End FGM to free girl child
“My brothers came to pick me up from school, but I refused. My parents were not supportive as I was seen as disobedient and my mother suffered the stigma of ‘how come your daughter is not listening to you’ and was more often denied participation in community activities,” recounts Ms Kilimo, a mother of five.
She recalls that while in Standard Four, their class teacher encouraged girls to shun FGM so that they could “own a car”. This changed her perception of the practice.
“Those words fell on fertile ground. I was motivated by these words to concentrate on my education, even though I look back and laugh at how naïve I was [to believe] that for one to own a car one must be uncircumcised.
"However, this was relatable because I could see those who were circumcised fail to transition to the next class.”
In 2002, she beat the odds and was elected as the first woman MP for Marakwet East. She would serve for two terms in the National Assembly. Before joining politics, she had worked as a paralegal officer advocating peace and the rights of women and girls.
“When I was first elected, I had only two goals: to promote peace between the Pokot and the Marakwet, and take the FGM conversation to the national table. That we do not talk about it in hushed tones but discuss openly,” she said in a recent interview.
She notes that she used the platform to push for laws to protect girls at risk of FGM and the third President, Mr Mwai Kibaki, assented to the bill that criminalised the harmful practice.
Initially, she studied international and regional legal instruments on FGM such as the Maputo Protocol, which provides for protection of the rights of women and girls.
“I still recall a genealogist describing the consequences of FGM and I could relate to what I saw back at home. But I can sit back and reflect that I am grateful to God; that perhaps I have fulfilled half of what He intended for me to achieve, but I know there exist other challenges.”
She agrees that great milestones have been made in the war on FGM. That the public is more aware of it and its repercussions and people are not afraid to speak about it openly.
Also read: FGM is a practice that belongs to old past
“One of the achievements is that we now have a law in place and rates have gone down from 78 per cent to 15 per cent. People have been empowered, but we need to talk until we bring FGM to zero. . .
"I am happy that my colleagues in Parliament agreed then to take it from the Ministry of Health to the Office of the President, hence it goes down to location chiefs and village elders,” says Ms Kilimo, who holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology counselling from Kenya Methodist University and a diploma from Kenyatta University.
“Previously, it was treated as taboo . . . people used to say that those are issues of NGOs looking for money or jobs, but I am happy that it is now a government agenda. Today, a girl can say a big ‘no’ to it because the Law of our land outlaws it and no one can say it is a foreign agenda being imposed.”
She expresses concern that some people still oppose change and mistreat those shunning FGM who are subjected to “isolation, as no one wants to associate with them”.
“You need to be yourself and stay in your own cocoon and protect yourself so that no one hurts you…by building your own boundaries,” she says.
“When it comes to dowry negotiations, one of the questions is: Who will take the bride if she is not circumcised?
"I am happy that my father-in-law did not mind and made me join politics because he was struggling with issues of insecurity in the Kerio Valley.”
The anti-FGM crusader expresses regrets that with the hard economic times, most communities treat young girls as “disposable assets”.
“They see a girl as property . . . Last year we had many cases in Marakwet East. When a girl misses a bursary or scholarship, the parents decide to subject her to the cut so that they can marry them off. . . and this is not in Marakwet alone, even in other communities.
“When they want to restock livestock after their animals have died during drought, they dispose of the ‘available asset’: the girl child.
“Girls need wings to fly to their destinations and one wing is education and another is the law.”
The former lawmaker is also concerned that many married women still undergo FGM for fear of stigma. “Their husbands are stigmatised. When they attend meetings, they are told that they are married to a child. They are even told to excuse themselves as wazee discuss their issues.”
She lauded President William Ruto for his resolve to end the vice. She also appealed to parents, young men and professionals to champion the empowerment of girls.
“We should not hurt our girls but protect them. If a father said ‘no,’ no one would touch her daughter as they would see the value in them. It is my hope that men are strongly involved in these campaigns.
"We want to have an empowered woman for a stronger society,” says Ms Kilimo, who also served as Cabinet minister in the Kibaki administration.
“Some professionals hold much influence in society and are aware of global changes but tell our people that mwacha mila ni mtumwa (those who ignore their culture(s) are slaves). That is retrogressive and we should find another identity.”
Asked whether her decades-long campaigns have rubbed some people the wrong way, she says she will continue to speak the truth.
“The decision to campaign made me unpopular in some quarters, but it is not about me . . . if you don’t give me your vote, that is fine. I got that opportunity to serve in the political space and I believe they saw the benefits that came along with my leadership.
“I did not see that as an impediment because, fortunately for me, I like to speak the truth. I do not regret my campaign against FGM.”
She urges the male political leaders to amplify the voices against harmful traditions. “You will always notice those who speak for and against. Sometimes silence means it is a yes, not a no. You will know which side of the bread is buttered, but for me, it is not about bread and butter.”
Ms Kilimo adds that it is time for the authorities to identify some schools to serve as shelters for the girls who face the FGM threat.
In 2015, she was appointed to serve as the first chief executive of the Anti-FGM Board a year after it was established. Former President Uhuru Kenyatta subsequently appointed her as Gender Chief Administrative Secretary in the Jubilee administration.
Recently, she was appointed to serve as one of the directors of the International Child Fund based in Virginia, USA.
She will sit in the programmes committee. She hopes to use the platform to champion the rights of children and girls.
“I am grateful that I have another platform to continue with my advocacy for the rights of children. Though I am no longer in the political space, I have an expanded opportunity to engage with partners working with the Child Fund, especially those who have interest in FGM, not just in Kenya but across the globe.
“As I take up this mantle, I promise to work tirelessly and it is my prayer that I leave a mark as I did in Parliament so that another African woman can be considered for the seat,” she says, noting that the appointment came as a surprise to her.
Ms Kilimo is also the patron of a community-based organisation known as Potuma, which brings together widows who lose their husbands to banditry in West Pokot, Elgeyo Marakwet, Baringo and Turkana counties.
“FGM is what I have achieved now that it is part of the national agenda. But for peace between the warring communities, it is an uphill task.
"I decided to bring together these women to amplify their calls for peace, get food, build them homes and enable their children to access scholarships,” she says, adding that they are reaching out to more partners to support more widows.
