This archive report was first published on 30 July 2019.
Published on July 30, 2019, child rights activists in Kenya have called for the formation of Anti-Female Genital Mutilation Boards in counties to bring in all stakeholders in the fight against FGM.
Human rights activists gathered at Archers Post Town in Samburu County to identify gaps that have seen hundreds of girls continue to undergo the cut, citing lack of public participation before enactment of anti-FGM laws.
As hundreds of boys from the Samburu community are set to be initiated into morans in August, the girl child is at risk of being subjected to FGM, with young girls given special beads by community warriors to become 'temporary wives.'
Despite the Anti-FGM board being formed in 2013, little has been achieved in the fight against female cut, with the practice still prevalent in northern Kenya, parts of Nyanza and Rift Valley regions.
Kenya hopes to eliminate this harmful cultural practice by 2030 and meet its Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
Statistics from the Anti-FGM Board indicate that the practice is still prevalent, with 94% of girls from the Somali community being subjected to the cut, followed by 86% in Samburu, 84% in Kisii, and 78% among the Maasai community.
Christina Namunyak, a village administrator at Archers Post, accused the board of operating in isolation without involving leaders at the grassroots, and called for the incorporation of village elders in strategies to confront the vice.
The meeting also criticized elected women leaders from pastoralist communities for not being vocal in condemning the vice for fear of losing political support.
Samburu Women Trust Director Jane Meriwas called on County Governments in pastoralist communities to develop policies and laws to protect girls from the harmful cultural practice.
