Spirited fight against FGM makes girls flower in schools

By Phares Mutembei

Sometimes back, schools in Tharaka and large Meru region wallowed in the lowest tiers of the academic ladder. They mostly performed poorly in national examinations.  It seemed that schools in the areas would live with the poor performer’s tag forever.

One of the things that resulted into poor performance was that parents and community’s gatekeepers conspired to ensure girls never went to school.

It was not uncommon to find that boys made up to 80 per cent of student population in many schools. Girls as young as ten were forced to undergo circumcision, effectively ruling out any chance of undertaking formal education.

Soon after the ‘cut’, other rites were performed to induct the girls into ‘adulthood, culminating in forced marriages.

The Tharaka religiously clung to this culture and fervently fought child rights’ advocates who tried to have them stop the ritual and other cultures that curtailed girl-child education.

It did not concern many to see pregnant teenagers along village paths, tending to livestock and carrying out other chores assigned by their parents.

The Tharaka girl became an increasingly endangered member of the community. As soon as a girl sprouted into teenage, her parents launched plans to circumcise and marry her off, to cash in on dowry.

Men waited with excitement as hordes of young girls were initiated into ‘adulthood’ through the cut. As a result, only a handful managed to go through high school.

Child rights

The fortunes of girls in the area, have, however, changed for the better. A sustained fight against FGM by members of Provincial Administration, health workers and child rights advocates has resulted in reduction of girls undergoing the cut.

Previously unwilling victims of the practice, the girls are now resisting attempts to circumcise them.

Schools in the areas have joined in the fight against the vice. Most learning institutions have skits, poems and songs on the harmful effects of FGM.

“Who doesn’t know FGM harms girls?” students from Iruna Primary School asked recently during a public function. Their message echoed in the ears of parents, teachers, education officials and community leaders. Students use the songs and poems to castigate parents who force girls to undergo FGM and get married at younger ages.

Escape cut

Just five years ago in some areas of Tharaka, only about five girls out of 100 managed to escape the cut. And even though more than 50 per cent of girls in some areas are still subjected to FGM, the practice has drastically reduced in many parts of Tharaka.

These efforts are bearing fruits. Schools in Tharaka have reported improved academic performance, “FGM was a big challenge here. In the past, we saw many girls dropout after the cut. Now, we are sensitising parents and the community that it is not in the girls’ best interest to be forcibly circumcised and married off. They now know. More girls are now in school,” said Mr Lawrence Mugendi, the headmaster of Kamagajiu Primary in Gatunga.

The school has 210 students, majority of them girls. The deputy headmaster Ms Agnes Kibaara, notes, “Traditional practices such as FGM and early marriages have declined. We have stepped up efforts ensure girls remain in schools. The girls want to be in school,” she says.

Trend changing

There are encouraging signs that the community is changing their attitude towards education. “Though our total student population is a disappointing 161, we are encouraged that 97 of them are girls. In the past, boys outnumbered girls but the trend is now changing,” she says.

Kibaara adds, “We are also seeing improvement in academic performance. Our aim is to continue educating the community on benefits of educating girls. In our current Class 8, the top three students are always girls and we have faith they will do well in the KCPE.”

She observes that instances of where parents used to pull girls out of school whenever they wanted have declined.

“Early pregnancies were rife and so were dropouts. That is changing and many girls are in school-where they belong,” she says.

Mr Josephat Mugwika, the headmaster of Karambani Primary School says the onus is on the teachers in Tharaka to spearhead the fight against FGM so that girls can join boys in the classroom and study in peace.

Curb vice

“As teachers, we have made it our duty to fight FGM in the community because we want to raise the standards of education in Tharaka. We also want to protect girls against early marriages. There are still families in our area that are carrying out FGM in secret but we are working with area administration to curb the vice,” said Mugwika, whose school has 268 girls and 260 boys.

Ms Faith Mpara of Plan International, an organisation that is promoting education for girls in Tharaka, says traditional practices are hindering girls from performing better in school.

“Deeply-rooted traditional practices are a hindrance to attainment of education for girls. After FGM,the girls are married off. We are using people in the community, including retired teachers, to reach and influence the community. Come 2013, we want to witness a lot of good change in girl education,” she says.

Some organisations in the region have come up with alternative rites of passage to stop girls from undergoing circumcision. This has  helped them to complete school.