We must end FGM, it is a violation of our girl’s human rights

How can we have gender equality if we are still subjecting our girls to some barbaric cultural practices such as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)?

For the last seven years, St Peter's Kanjuki catholic parish in Tharakanithi county has been organizing alternative rites of passage training for girls where the numbers of the participant have been increasing yearly. This year alone 235 girls attended the one-week training and graduated on Saturday (14/12/2019). What a milestone! However, I felt sad just being part of that “graduation” ceremony. What if their parents forced them (girls) to go through Female Genital Mutilation? As children what powers do they have? Do they even know their rights? These are some of the questions I have been grappling with since then.