Vol. 8, Issue 2 ------------------------------------------------------------------ Africa Today
|
Africa Today
Kenya Enacts Law Against Female Genital Mutilation! (FGM)
The Kenya government has finally enacted a law against female genital cutting (FGM)! Yes, girls no longer have to live in dread of the 'cut', that dreadful ogre that terrorizes many a young girl, traumatizing them while destroying any vintage of satisfaction and pleasure they may have wished to have in their sexual and reproductive health. FGM, otherwise known as Female Circumcision is one of the most severe forms of gender-based violence inflicted on girls at a tender age and it has its roots in the patriarchal cultural norm inherent in our society. In many societies, FGM is part of initiation into womanhood.
However once girls have undergone this rite, sometimes they are no longer sent to school because from that point onwards, they are supposed to remain at home and wait to be married. In this situation FGM is an obstacle to girls and women reaching their full intellectual and employment potential. In addition FGM impacts significant physical, psychological and emotional harmful effects.
Of course, this is by no means the end of the harmful tradition in Kenya. Cultural practices, just like matters pertaining to religion are not easy to legislate effectively against since the are deeply entrenched in the African society and especially in the rural areas. What happens is that the practitioners go underground and continue to carry it clandestinely. But at least now girls who have no desire to undergo the tradition will have recourse to legal action. Anti-FGM activists also now have a legal base on which to launch their activities and campaigns for the fight is far from over.
Tradition dies hard, very hard and FGM is practiced fervently here. Many tribes and especially the predominantly Muslim northern and eastern tribes adhere to the rite religiously in every sense of the word. For they believe that FGM is sanctioned by the teachings of the holy prophet Mohammed in the holy book Koran. Other reasons given are cleanliness, better marriage prospects, greater pleasure for the husband, preservation of virginity, prevention of immorality and increased fertility.
Men often consider FGM a women's affair (which amounts to tacit approval) and some respondents have expressed the view that if it men insisted on marrying women who have not undergone FGM the practice would die out. The main reason men give for this practice is religious duty and the second is tradition. Therefore men have also been instrumental in keeping this tradition alive. However anti-FGM activists have found out that once they sensitize men about the rite, exposing what it entails (most men don't know the gory details of the operation) and what the ramifications are for the victims, they change their stance. In this regard it is of utmost importance to include men in initiatives to end FGM in countries that have not legislated against it.
Tradition Keepers (who are mostly men) have a key role to play to assist in overcoming inequality and violence towards women. The death knell has sounded for FGM, from now on it is just a matter of time before it is completely eradicated. Kudos goes to all the gallant courageous women and men who campaigned tirelessly and maintained the pressure on the Government to act against the harmful and perverse practice. This is a major step in the fight against gender based violence in Kenya and consequently for the all world.
If you find this Web Site of interest, please tell a friend where you found it.
We wish to thank you for your patronage.
Trademark Notice: Trademarked names may appear throughout these pages. Rather than list each and every name at each occurrence together with the entities who own the trademarks, this publisher states that the trademarked names are referred to editorially and used to the benefit of the trademark owners with no intention of infringing upon the trademarks. All articles & information used from outside sources are used with permission of the respective authors.
Copyright © 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 by A Woman's Voice, International.
Although these pages are not "optimized" for any particular browser, they have been tested using Netscape Navigator & Communicator. If you are using MS Internet Explorer or some other browser, some elements may not be supported or may be rendered a little differently.
|
Site Index:
Newsletters
|
|
