My painful ordeal gave me passion to defend girls against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)

Namelokai Sein Lengechu. She fights for women and girls liberation in the Maasai community. (PHOTO: COURTESY)

At 13, I underwent forced circumcision that nearly ruined my life. It was a painful process that damaged my genitalia, prompting doctors to recommend reconstructive surgery. The urinary tract was damaged and I used to experience a lot of pain during menstruation.

It started as a ceremony. My parents bought me new clothes and shoes. It was a “celebration” in which myself and my two sisters were the centre of attraction.

Little did we know it was actually our day to be circumcised in line with Maasai traditions. I never wanted to undergo the cut. I fought the women, kicking them to stop, but they overpowered me. They used a sharp, curved handmade knife that was not sterilised.

In my culture, if you cry or scream when undergoing circumcision, you are considered a coward. Because they were older and stronger than me, they succeeded. But I begged them to spare my younger sisters.

After the “cut”, the wound was treated with herbs, salt and water. I bled profusely and was in great pain. I was frightened and cried until I passed out. When I regained consciousness, we were in the same room with my sisters. They had also been “cut”, commonly known as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).

But this did not deter me from pursuing my education. I went to a boarding school in Narok County, but was later expelled due to early pregnancy. I was in Standard Eight then. This turn of events angered my father who had wanted me to get married to a chief in Ntulele who was thrice my age but I refused.

After giving birth, I joined Oloombokishi, a public primary school. I sat my Kenya Certificate of Primary Education in 1993. I later joined Maasai Girls High School.

Since I was not getting any support from my father, I paid for my school fees through bursaries.

I got a mean grade of D+ in my final exams and joined a private college in Nairobi to study public relations and communication.

In 2002, I relocated to the United States with my husband and children. I went back to school and I currently have two bachelor’s degrees in social work and women studies and a master’s degree in social work.

Although I underwent FGM, I consider myself lucky since education has made me who I am today. I want to encourage people from my local community to reflect on the role of girls and women. I want to empower women and eradicate FGM and early marriages in my community. I want to be a voice for oppressed women and girls.

My studies at Wichita State University and the need to keep girls safe from harm gave me the urge to start the Keep Girls Safe Foundation.

I was inspired by love for my community, the passion to see each girl and women make their own choices. I don’t want my children subjected to the oppression I faced in my village.

Through Keep Girls Safe Foundation, I work with survivors of FGM, survivors of forced marriages, and teen mothers who have fled the horror of arranged marriages in my community.

I help them access opportunities for education and offer wide-ranging services, including mentorship, counselling and child-parent reconciliation.

We work in the villages to promote health, sanitation and child rights issues. We want to see leaders value girls and protect them from all forms of abuse, manipulation, forced FGM and early marriages.

Currently, the foundation is helping over 100 girls get education and avoid early and forced marriages in Narok.

Keeping girls in school make them resilient and wise enough to make informed choices. It helps them take responsibility for their lives and have a better understanding of their sexuality and reproductive health and their roles as women in the society.

I will be graduating this May at Wichita State University with a master’s degree in public administration.