This archive report was first published on 6 September 2019.
Published on September 6, 2019, a court in Meru, Kenya, has handed down a three-year jail sentence or a Sh200,000 fine to five women who underwent female genital mutilation (FGM).
The women, Florence Kiende, Caroline Wanja, Charity Karimi, Winfred Kawira, and Charity Muthoni, pleaded guilty to the charges and apologized for their actions.
Resident Magistrate Evelyne Wachira, who presided over the case, stated that FGM is a 'backward rite of passage' that must be discouraged.
The women, from Kiagu in Imenti Central, Meru County, were arrested on Wednesday after a tip-off from the public.
Two of the women were rushed to hospital due to septic wounds.
The circumciser, identified as Ciomutema, is still at large and hails from Kibung'a in Tharaka-Nithi County.
