Despite Campaigns, Female
Circumcision Continues In Kenya
Story Filed: Thursday, March 23, 2000 8:20 PM EST
Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) (Panafrican News Agency, March 23, 2000) - It is the month of
December and classes in all learning institutions in Kenya have been suspended for seven
weeks to give students and pupils time to celebrate Independence, Christmas and New Year's
festivities.
For Jane Kemunto (not her real name), the recess is a real joy and special time for
her. At last she will undergo a rite which will mark her passage from childhood to
adulthood. Yes, she will undergo circumcision.
Not so for Gladys Mwari, however, who shivers at the thought of "facing the razor
blade." She even contemplates fleeing from home to her aunt's but a sharp rebuke from
her ageing parents persuades her to stay home.
Jane Muthoni is, however, lucky. Though her parents have made all preparations for the
circumcision ceremony, luck smiles her way when a social worker she confided with about
her fears of undergoing the ceremony "abducts" her.
Every year hundreds of Kenyan girls undergo circumcision, also referred to as
clitoridectomy or female genital mutilation, according to statistics provided by UNICEF.
Circumcision of women in some communities is held in the highest esteem. Those who
practice it say the rite is meant to initiate girls into adulthood. No wonder most girls
in the communities that practice it abandon school to get married.
The communities also believe that circumcision also help girls to remain virgins. Men
who support the idea say the practice controls the sexual desire of women and, therefore,
a sure way of curbing promiscuity.
Female circumcision, however, has been associated with several fatal health risks such
as haemorrhage, infection and shock. Long term consequences are sterility, menstrual
irregularities, difficulties during intercourse, urinary tract infections and problems
during child-birth.
In addition, there are psychological effects which in many cases are subtle and buried
within.
A Kenyan medic, Dr. O. Oburu, says the equipment used by local communities during
circumcision in most cases is not sterilised and can infect the initiated with disease,
including HIV/AIDS, hence the need to educate the practitioners on the consequences of
this outdated custom.
A woman leader agrees, saying: "I underwent the ritual when I was a young girl and
the tools of trade were not only rusty but generally unhygienic. I now realise the dangers
I faced after the ritual."
Research carried out by the Programme for Appropriate Technology in Health says the
practice in fact gives some Kenyan girls the courage to have early sex as a test of their
womanhood.
According to the research, health workers in the organisation found out that some of
the girls have to undergo another "cut" when they are married as their sex
organs are stitched at the time of circumcision.
The practice is more common among the Somali of northern Kenya and Somalia
itself.
It has become such a big issue in Kenya that those who are not circumcised in local
communities are considered outcasts.
"Today women of my age shun me, while men use derogatory terms to describe
me," Anne, from Meru district, told PANA.
She flashed a newspaper and pointed to an item where seven middle aged women have been
arraigned in a court of law accused of forcefully circumcising one of their age mates - a
neighbour.
"That's my home village and I know both the accused and the defendant," she
said.
The sad fact is that despite the dangers, thousands of girls world-wide are subjected
to the practice, which is classified into three types.
In Kenya the removal of the clitoris and labia minora but without stitching is common
while in other countries, the wound is stitched together after the removal of the clitoris
labia minora and labia majora.
However, all is not lost, campaigners against the vice and social workers say, pointing
out that NGOs have come up with programmes where they sensitise the communities against
the practice and instead "graduate" the girls to adulthood with certificates
instead of the razor.
One of the programmes' managers, Leah Muya, says that she holds seminars for the
"initiation recruits" and on completion, she issues them with certificates
declaring them "mature women."
At these seminars, the girls are educated on important issues of womanhood.
Participants are upper primary and secondary school girls.
The new method of initiating girls into mature women is, however, meeting resistance
from members of the communities where circumcision is prevalent.
The communities, who include the Maasai, Kisii, Meru, Samburu and Pokots, believe that
if one does not undergo the rite, she will be haunted by the spirits of her ancestors.
Some close relatives, like brothers and husbands of uncircumcised women, are also said
to secretly arrange for their uncircumcised sisters and wives to receive the
"cut" without the women's consent.
What now for the female genital circumcision in Kenya.?
The practice, social workers say, is continuing unabated despite concerted efforts by
Christian groups, NGOs and government officials.
There has, however, been some noticeable improvement in areas such as South Meru
District, where the concept of "circumcision through the word" where those to be
initiated are educated on womanhood and adulthood without going through the
"cut" is proving very popular.
However, a lot still remains to be done, not only in Kenya, but indeed in the whole
world.
Online.
Copyright © 1900 Panafrican News Agency. Distributed via Africa News
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