Bengali sub-county multi agency security team headed by Assistant County Commissioner (ACC) Peter Kipkorir has met to elaborate on the 100% elimination of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) among schoolgirls in the area.
Talking to opinion leaders, Chiefs, NGOs and religious leaders in Madogo Township, Kipkorir told the area security chiefs and administrators that they should cease condoning the cruel practice in their areas of jurisdiction.
“As much as the safari is tedious, I call upon the responsible officers to implement new ways to tackle FGM albeit the former regime’s efforts didn’t bear fruits in the stipulated time,” he said.
Speaking later in his office, the sub-county Chief said that the cruel practice denied many Bengali girls decent lives.
“FGM infringes on the girl child’s rights. These vulnerable girls need protection from parents and the community at large. In this respect, I also call upon the women folk to be at the forefront in fighting this cruel vice,” he said.
Opinion leader Adula Tutuna urged fellow women in the area to assist in FGM eradication and advised residents to discard the notion that girls have to undergo the practice to be able to find spouses.
“It is sad that FGM perpetrators have changed tactics by practicing it before the male circumcision season. Reliable reports indicate that they do it in secrecy and keep shifting the girls from place to place,” she revealed.
Adula accused local leaders of not talking about the vice in fear of losing election.
She noted that Mororo Social Network, a Community Based Organization (CBO) led by Mohamed Ashora Lokha was creating awareness and were planning to construct a rescue centre for the vulnerable girls and street children.
She expressed satisfaction that progress towards the vice’s eradication was slow but sure.
The 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census Report said that out of 95,997 students in Tana River County 50,470 boys in school but out of 32,815 girls, only 13,464 completed school.
By Amoto Ndiewo
Get more stories from our website: Education News
You can also follow our social media pages on Twitter: Education News KE and Facebook: Education News Newspaper for timely updates.
