As the December school holidays approach, activists in Kenya and Tanzania are intensifying their efforts to end cross-border female genital mutilation (FGM). The practice, which is illegal in both countries, has seen thousands of girls at risk of being subjected to the cut.
According to the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, UNFPA, more than 1,000 girls are at risk of being subjected to FGM during the school holidays. To combat this, activists have shifted their focus to the boda boda sector, which is actively involved in sneaking girls across the porous border to undergo the cut.
Valerian Mgani, a programs manager at the Association for Termination of Female Genital Mutilation (ATFGM), estimates that the boda boda sector has the capacity to save up to 400 girls from the cut. However, this can be scaled up when the sector is fully engaged in the exercise.
Despite the efforts of anti-FGM crusaders and law enforcers, nine clans in Tanzania are bracing for the cut. These include Timbaru, Nyabasi, Nyamango Wairegi, Wakira, Wasweta, Wahuruyaga, Wakenyi, and Wanchari.
Enhanced Vigilance ¶
The Bumera and Renchoka clans subjected girls to FGM in December, paving the way for the other nine. However, Tarime Regional Community engagement officer David Mathew assured stakeholders of enhanced vigilance and drastic response should there be a case.
Activists in Kenya are banking on youths to create a generational gap that will see the practice fully rooted out. FGM has drastically reduced but not completely eradicated in Migori. In the past, activists have targeted elders, the key custodians of cultural laws governing FGM.
Charles Olwamba, Amref Health Africa program officer, noted that despite most communities performing female cut with the knowledge that it is illegal, misconception and stigma against the vice still persists, affecting its complete eradication.
Cultural Circumcision ¶
Olwamba was speaking in Kehancha town after training more than 30 local community-based organizations on ending the vice within a generation. Vincent Mwita, programs coordinator for Tunaweza Empowerment, said that despite Kuria being a religious community and most people from the region being law-abiding, the irony of open end celebrations during cultural circumcision is baffling.
