Surgical restoration for cut girls

Photo/GEORGE SAYAGIE

Some 247 girls who took part in the alternative right of passage at Olosito Primary School in Narok North district. Doctors have developed a surgical procedure for women who have undergone the cut and wish to reverse the effects of the genital mutilation.

What you need to know:

  • There is a lot of stigma associated with the practice, which can lead to low esteem in girls, says Mr Obbuyi

Doctors have developed a surgical procedure for women who have undergone the cut and wish to reverse the effects of the genital mutilation.

The procedure, which the doctors want made available, will bring hope to as many women as possible.

Recently about 3,000 women, including more than 100 from East Africa, underwent the reconstructive or restorative surgery.

Surgeons at the French Hospital Poissy Saint Germain said the operation reduces pain and increases pleasure in women who have undergone genital mutilation.

However, Ms Hubbie Hussein Al-haji, founder of Womankind Kenya, is sceptical about this development, “Reconstructive surgery is about appearances or aesthetics. You cannot completely reverse the clock.”

In contrast, she is quick to point out that the procedure can give hope to the women by making them comfortable during reproduction “but not as before the cut, and again it all depends on the amount of damage that had been caused,” she said.

The most important tool to fight FGM is to make sure it does not happen, she said.

About the reconstructive surgery, whose findings were reported in The Lancet last week, Mr Albert Obbuyi, the executive director of the Centre for the Study of Adolescence, said that it was good news for women who had already been cut because a lot of social stigma is associated with the practice, which can lead to low esteem in girls.

He said the finding therefore presents a chance for the women and girls to enjoy normal sexual life.

This development comes at a time when Kenya has received accolades from the UN on gains made towards reducing cases of the female cut.

A report released by the UN in February rated Kenya top of 15 sub-Saharan countries that have drastically reduced cases of female circumcision.

FGM went down by nearly 16 per cent between 2003 and 2009, according to a UN Population Fund report. UNPF director Babatunde Osotimehin said the findings show that social norms and cultural practices are changing and communities are uniting to protect girls and women.

The report also attributed the decline to public campaigns and signing of an anti-FGM Bill into a law.