Samburu women use song, dance to declare end of cut
What you need to know:
- Groups of Samburu women assembled to courageously deliver social messages meant to bail out Samburu girls from the jaws of circumcisers.
- They want to convince opinion leaders and decision makers in the Samburu community to ditch the retrogressive culture of subjecting young girls to FGM and embrace alternative rites of passage.
- Traditionally, Samburu warriors would not marry an uncut woman because she would not be allowed to join in important cultural celebrations and their children would be considered illegitimate.
- Anti-FGM Chief Executive Officer Bernadette Loloju says education and sensitization is the key to debunking myths which shore up the outlawed practice.
It is a normal day in Maralal town, the Samburu County headquarters, and a crowd is gathered at Allamano grounds.
An anti-FGM campaign session is underway and several government officials, led by Gender Chief Administrative Secretary Rachel Shebesh and Anti-FGM Board chairperson Agnes Pareiyo are in attendance.
On stage, groups of brightly dressed women begin to sing and dance traditional songs. They are joined by Samburu men and other guests, clapping and chanting in a mix of women whose sharp voices are piercing out and echoing back.
Normally, Samburu women entertain guests, visitors and sometimes tourists due to their unique way of dancing; thrusting their necks full of necklaces. But, this time, the women's songs, rhythm, words they sing and the message they are conveying in their songs is somehow new.
''Memorati ntoyie, memorati ntoyie piii'' they sing, meaning “no more girls' circumcision in Samburu”.
Social messages
This is the first time the groups have assembled to courageously deliver social messages meant to bail out Samburu girls from the jaws of circumcisers.
They want to convince opinion leaders and decision makers in the Samburu community to ditch the retrogressive culture of subjecting young girls to FGM and embrace alternative rites of passage.
The Samburu, who have practiced FGM for close to half a century now, have always resisted cultural change. Their tradition and culture is similar to the Maasai. They dress in red shawls and adorn themselves with bright beaded necklaces and headdresses. They also practice pastoralism.
The cutting of girls is seen as an important rite of passage, which confers status on girls among the Samburu, and the start of womanhood with distinctive roles.
Traditionally, Samburu warriors would not marry an uncut woman because she would not be allowed to join in important cultural celebrations and their children would be considered illegitimate.
Future generations
Anti-FGM Chief Executive Officer Bernadette Loloju says education and sensitization is the key to debunking myths which shore up the outlawed practice.
“I decided to be the matron of these groups that rose courageously to fight FGM through songs and dances. They also conduct story telling sessions to pass messages to the future generation to stop FGM,” she adds.
Ms Loloju says education and sensitisation projects using songs and storytelling could turn around attitudes of villagers who still hold firmly to the retrogressive culture of cutting girls.
In Samburu, an uncircumcised girl cannot marry, and if she manages to bear a baby before she is cut, the mother and child will be stigmatised, ostracised and cast out from the rest of the family.
Ms Loloju is aware it will take time to change this deeply-rooted culture. But, she is optimistic the women groups address using songs is stronger to initiate changes in Samburu community.
"In their lyrics they have also captured the aspect of stigma. I believe it is crucial to end the stigma around uncut girls to eliminate the practice," she adds.
Changed tactics
Samburu is among 22 counties where FGM is prevalent and highly secretive, with the Gender ministry noting the communities are improvising new tricks to subject underage girls to FGM.
According to the ministry, Somali, Samburu, Kisii and Maasai communities recorded the highest FGM prevalence rates. Somali was leading with 94 per cent, Samburu 86 per cent, Kisii 84 per cent and Maasai 78 per cent.
Public Service and Gender Chief Administrative Secretary Rachel Shebesh says the Samburu community has changed tactics of conducting FGM to evade the government's wrath.
She, however, expresses optimism that the retrogressive culture will come to an end before 2022 as women, who are believed to be perpetrators have joined hands to curb the vice.
"President Uhuru Kenyatta sent us here to tell you to stop FGM and I am glad women have taken the initiative themselves to beat this retrogressive culture. This is what we want and by 2022, we will win this war," said Ms Shebesh during the event.
Community dialogues
The campaign by the Ministry of Public Service and Gender is aimed at reaching 22 counties where there is high preference of FGM.
To prevent the circumcisers from going back to the outlawed practice, Ms Shebesh says the government will link them to alternative sources of income. This, she says, will be done through affirmative action funds such as National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF), Women Enterprise Funds, Uwezo Funds and others.
At the same time, Samburu elders in solidarity with the women, committed to lead community dialogues and education sessions to sensitise locals against FGM.
In Kenya, FGM ritual involves the removal of the external parts of a woman’s genitalia. Nearly 90 per cent of the women in the remote Samburu communities are circumcised often by crude and informal means when they are teenagers.
FGM causes many physical and emotional problems for women.
