(4 girls taking action in educating the public of female genital mutilation)
A passage of rite among many ethnic groups in Kenya, is considered an honorable thing. it signifies the transition from childhood to adulthood; whether through hunting, getting traditional marks on your body, by marriage or undergoing circumcision. Many Kenyan citizens don’t really understand what it is until
faced with photographic or video evidence of it via media houses blogs or
websites when they get a chance to visit ‘Dr.’ google on the subject. Others
say and think it is a bad practice without understanding why it is or who is a
victim or survivor of this horrible practice.
Lisa Harker of NSPCC said, “Victims of the crime are
“hidden behind a wall of silence’. Like other forms of abuse, if female genital
mutilation is not exposed it will continue to thrive and more children will
suffer”,
“Children who are at risk or victims of female genital
mutilation often don’t even know it is abusive and harmful because it is done
at the request of their family.
“They are told they are unclean and immoral if they are not ‘cut’ and that it is
in their best interest.
“There is also a huge pressure within these communities to
keep quiet about female genital mutilation, with some people even being
threatened with violence if they speak out.
In many
Kenyan homesteads, it is a sour topic when discussed in public and private settings
and is only brought up when time has arrived for the young women and girls in
the community to become ‘women’, which begs the question ”What is the understanding
and definition of a WOMAN?”
In
line with the Resource Center for Women & Girls empowerment programs in
breaking negative cycles, the first thing we all need to understand, is what FGM is. I will outline a few
commonly asked questions and answers with images where necessary to enable all
to understand Female genital mutilation better.
What is Female circumcision/cutting/mutilation?
It’s
the cultural ritual practice which refers to four different types of
circumcision/cutting performed on the external genitalia of young girls or women
i.e. clitoris/labia. These four basic types are:
Clitoridectomy
aka “Sunna”: is the partial
or total removal of the clitoris ‘hood’(a small, sensitive and erectile
part of the female genitals) and only the prepuce (the fold of skin
surrounding the clitoris) The ;east commonly practiced form of FGM.
Excision:partial or total
removal of the clitoris and the labia minora, with or without
excision of the labia majora (the labia are the ‘lips’ that surround
the vagina). It is the most common type of FGM in African countries,
except in Somalia and Sudan.