Daring to break the tradition of female genital mutilation (FGM)
International Women’s Day, from Christian Aid Kenya
As we celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8, 2018, we salute women across the globe, who dare to go against the grain and challenge the unthinkable and thus defy the status quo.
Culture in play
One of the strongest held traditions among communities in Isiolo County, Kenya, is Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).
To understand why, one needs to understand its significance in the community. More so, its significance towards receiving a father’s and elders’ blessings as a girl becomes a respectable and recognised woman within the community.
Previously, any woman who did not undergo FGM was viewed as an abomination.
If she had become pregnant without undergoing FGM, she would be banished from her home and the community. The father of her baby would have no say, as his parents would forbid him from marrying her. No one from the community would want to associate themselves with her.
So despicable was the act, that she would be banished from her parents’ home. She would have to leave through the back entrance of the village under the cover of darkness accompanied by a black bull (a symbol of being an outcast and a public statement that her family want nothing to do with her). No one cared about her fate.
Communities such as the Maasai view FGM as the ultimate rite of passage for a girl to become a woman. Initially, it was a ritual performed on older girls who had either just turned, or were nearing 18, ahead of their marriage.
Nowadays, girls as young as 12 undergo the ritual and are married off immediately. In many of these cases, families do so out of extreme poverty as the bride price and dowry they receive helps cater for some of their basic needs.
Margaret’s Story
Before Margaret became involved with the Centre for Rights Education and Awareness (CREAW) and Anglican Development Services (ADS), Christian Aid’s partners in Isiolo, she was one of the main women who would carry out FGM in the area.
Now, she is a champion, a hero and a voice for many young girls, as she advocates against the practice through the SASA women’s group. SASA, a model that promotes local activism to challenge harmful social norms, is one of the approaches used in the UK Aid Match programme.
Margaret says: ‘Families sought after me because I would ensure that the girls did not bleed excessively after I performed the FGM, which involves cutting the clitoris.
‘Most of the girls who passed through me would recover within two to three days. If the procedure went wrong, it would take three to four weeks.’
Margaret was among the few women in her community — most of whom are in their sixties — who were proficient in performing FGM. She would charge £15 per procedure and on a good day would perform 10, making £150 a day.
Margaret is her husband’s fifth wife and the sole provider for her four children.
‘I built our houses and took our children to school with money I made from performing FGM,’ she said.
When she understood the complications that come with FGM, some fatal, she stopped practising. This decision affected her family’s income stream significantly.
Margaret is now part of the women’s group who have put together a village savings and loans group (VSL), which allows them to save and invest together. This has meant she can improve her income from the various investments they make together. The group is passionate about developing dialogues with elders and men from the community to stop FGM practices for good.
The Compromise
Together with members from her VSL group and SASA women group, Margaret recently held a meeting with the elders in Isiolo.
They discussed the disadvantages of FGM.
‘The dialogue was a successful process which allowed the men to open up and share their concerns about FGM’
The men, especially the fathers, explained the need to retain the traditional FGM ceremony. To them, it symbolises a sense of pride and great honour when their daughters transition to women.
It was agreed that the ceremony would continue, but with no FGM. This compromise seemed to sit well with those attending.
It was also proposed that for families unable to host a ceremony (which can be costly), a group activity would take place where girls would receive blessings from the elders and their fathers.
Celebrating female heroes
Men in Isiolo are now beginning to understand the harmful effects of FGM and many households have vowed to discourage the process.
But Margaret and her team will not stop campaigning until there is an end to FGM.
UK Aid Match
The above work is made possible thanks to UK Aid Match, which is funded by the UK Government’s Department for International Development.
UK Aid Match doubles all donations received during a defined appeal period.
Christian Aid is currently managing UK Aid Match programmes in Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria and South Sudan.
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