Marakwet circumcisers turn anti-FGM champions, push for girls education

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The war on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in the North Rift has received a big boost after a group of circumcisers from the Marakwet community discarded the retrogressive practice.

The circumcisers have now pledged to be at the forefront in fighting FGM and other harmful practices to the girl-child in the region.

This has been achieved through a series of trainings and empowerment of the elderly women on the dangers of the cultural practice by a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO)-Brighter Society Initiative.

During a public forum held recently at Kapchebau in Marakwet East, many of the women regretted subjecting women and girls to the retrogressive cultural practice.

Veronicah Suter and Caroline Kisang, who are reformed circumcisers, cited the devastating effects of FGM on the girl-child with many of them bleeding to death.

"We underwent the rite ourselves and we subjected the same to other women and girls because we had not been empowered on its harmful effects. We have now seen the light and we will be in the forefront in assisting the authorities to fight the practice," Suter said.

 They called on parents in the area to discard retrogressive cultural practices and instead focus on ensuring that their children get quality education.

Kisang said women risk contracting infections such as HIV/AIDS as the practice is carried out in unhygienic conditions.

"Many women who underwent FGM have also died as a result of difficulty while giving birth. Tumekataa ukeketaji. Tunasema tu wacha watoto waende shuleni. (We are saying no to FGM. We are just saying let the children go to school)," Kisang said.

According to Brighter Society Initiative Chief Executive Officer Sadia Hussein, the organisation decided to reach out to circumcisers as they are well-known in the community and better understand effects of FGM.

"We are aiming to empower them to be responsible parents as they better understand the pain and ensure girls are free from FGM. We are saying education, not mutilation," Hussein said, adding that the practice was more prevalent in Marakwet East.

The initiative has also seen circumcisers down their tools of trade in the campaign dabbed 'Komesha FGM Sasa'.

"We will continue until we have zero cases of FGM in the region. We are also involving leaders to ensure there is good political will," Hussein who is also a survivor of FGM said.

Elgeyo Marakwet Deputy Governor Grace Cheserek who also attended the forum regretted that harmful cultural practices had contributed to the girl-child lagging behind in education compared to their male counterparts in the region.

"As a county government, we will continue working with other partners in empowering chiefs and mothers to assist as role models in the community to ensure the rights of the children are not violated and get a quality education," Prof Cheserek said.

"Our children are our future. Parents should take their responsibilities seriously and show their children the right path for them to be useful members of the society in the future," added the DG.

According to a recent survey by Women Rights Institute for peace (WRIP), a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) based in the North Rift, more than 300 girls underwent FGM in the North Rift region during the last December holidays with Tiaty leading with more than 100 girls facing the knife.

“A worrying trend has also emerged in the area where cases of married women are being forced to undergo the practice against their wishes are on the rise,” said WRIP Executive Director, Mariam Suleiman.

She said that this has also been reported in some parts of Elgeyo Marakwet County where married women are threatened with divorce by their husbands if they don’t accede to the demands of the elderly relatives in the community to undergo the rite.

“In some communities, young men are intimidated and threatened by elders and sometimes parents who insist on FGM on their daughters- in-law before distributing inheritance like land to their sons,” Ms Suleiman explained.

In some areas like Tiaty, she said the community has changed the circumcision period from December to August to avoid the public, government and media focus that comes at the end of the year.

The situation has been aggravated by some government officials including chiefs, their assistants and other government officials’ ignorance on the existing legal instruments to address the matter