Young Kenyan Maasai graduating into womanhood. Photo credit: Aljazeera
Earlier this month, the world marked the International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). In Kenya, where several communities like the Maasai and Samburu still practice female circumcision, the celebrations were held in Kajiado County.
This year’s theme was to build a solid and interactive bridge between Africa and the world to accelerate the end of FGM by 2030.
For many years, Maasai and Samburu women have endured the worst form of abuse as they have been forced to undergo FGM, which the semi-nomadic communities consider a rite of passage.
Unfortunately, many women have had to live with permanent deformities after the cut since the procedure is not only painful and humiliating, but also very destructive. An unknown number of young girls in Kenya are said to die annually from excessive bleeding during this rite of passage.
What’s worse is the fact that this practice is still ongoing, albeit secretly, despite numerous efforts by the Kenyan government and non-governmental organizations to end it.
Kenyan Maasai warriors perform a traditional dance during a rite of passage ceremony. Photo credit: Aljazeera
Part of the reason why some communities still don’t want to forgo the archaic practice is because of the mythical beliefs shrouding it. Some communities consider it an abomination to have adult women who are not circumcised.
In these communities, young men are not allowed to marry uncircumcised women because they are believed to bring bad luck to the family, leaving young girls and their parents with no choice but to embrace the practice.
Brighter Future
After many years of playing cat and mouse games with local communities, especially the Maasai and Samburu communities, the African Medical Research Foundation (AMREF) says these communities have slowly started to embrace alternative rite of passage practices that don’t involve the cut.
In 2008, AMREF started a program dubbed “Alternative Rite of Passage” that ensures Kenyan girls are allowed to graduate in to womanhood without undergoing the harmful cut or being forced in to early marriages.
In January, the organization facilitated the graduation in to womanhood of 350 Samburu girls at a colorful ceremony held in Wamba, Samburu County.
The ceremony was attended by high-profile personalities, including the Dutch ambassador to Kenya Frans Makken and his U.S. counterpart Robert Godec.
The event, which is held annually, is meant to celebrate and preserve the rich Samburu cultural process of girls becoming women without being exposed to harmful practices.
“FGM is violence against girls. The time has come for us to end it,” Ambassador Godec said.
The initiates are given certificates of graduation and are blessed by cultural elders who are given the responsibility of ensuring that the young girls continue with their education and excel in school.
Young Kenyan Samburu girls given certificates of graduation at a rite of passage ceremony. Photo credit: VOA
AMREF says more than 10,000 girls have so far passed through the Alternative Rite of Passage program and it is optimistic that the initiative will continue to garner support from influential individuals and groups, such as the Maasai Morans and Samburu elders.
Studies show that at least 100,000 girls undergo FGM every year despite the obvious risks of the practice, such as death, psychological trauma, HIV infections, and childbirth complications.
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Cutting male and female genitals are similar. 1) They are unnecessary, extremely painful, and traumatic. 2) They can have adverse sexual and psychological effects. 3) They are generally done by force on children. 4) They are generally supported by local medical doctors. 5) Pertinent biological facts are not generally known where procedures are practiced. 6) They are defended with reasons such as tradition, religion, aesthetics, cleanliness, and health. These reasons are used to mask underlying reasons. 7) The rationale has currently or historically been connected to controlling sexual pleasure. 8) They are often believed to have no effect on normal sexual functioning. 9) They are generally accepted and supported by those who have been subjected to them. 10) Those who are cut have a compulsion to repeat their trauma on their children, a symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder. 11) The choice may be motivated by underlying psychosexual reasons. 12) Critical public discussion is generally taboo where the procedures are practiced. 13) They can result in serious complications that can lead to death. 14) The adverse effects are hidden by repression and denial. 15) Dozens of potentially harmful physiological, emotional, behavioral, sexual, and social effects on individuals and societies have never been studied. 16) On a qualitative level, cutting the genitals of male and female children are the same. The harm starts with the first cut, any cut. 17) The decision is generally controlled by men though women may be supportive. 18) They violate the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. 19) They often exist together. 20) To stop one, we must stop both. Then we may better develop toward our individual and social potential. May courage overcome conformity.