This archive report was first published on 25 October 2019.
On October 25, 2019, Dr. Tatu Kamau testified in a Kenyan court that female genital mutilation (FGM) is a cultural rite that reduces promiscuity and stops women from pestering their husbands for sex.
According to Dr. Kamau, women who undergo FGM are more fertile and less likely to disturb their husbands for sex. She made these claims without providing any scientific evidence to support her statements.
Dr. Kamau, who has practiced medicine for 31 years, believes that FGM is a cultural practice that is protected by the Kenyan Constitution. She argues that the government's decision to ban FGM in 2011 was made without subjecting it to public participation and is therefore unconstitutional.
Dr. Kamau also claimed that FGM has a medical benefit of hygiene and that the use of the term 'mutilation' instead of 'circumcision' is malicious and meant to denigrate her culture.
She was supported in her testimony by a former police officer, John Koech, who also underwent FGM and believes that it is an Abrahamic covenant from God.
