By Norah Musega
Education is the only way to end Female Genital Mutilation among the Kuria community of Migori County, County Executive Committee Member for Education Samson Maginga has said.
Speaking during an event in which girls were issued with sanitary towels and soap, the CECM, who is also the director of Hope for Girls, said education not only helps girls achieve their dreams but also discourages the practice of FGM in communities.
“I am proud to say that the first team of girls who we managed to rescue are currently pursuing university education in different fields and we expect them to be great ambassadors to other girls in the community,” said Maginga.
During the function at the Visa Rescue Centre in Kuria East constituency, several girls narrated their ordeal in the bid to escape the harmful cultural practice.
They said those who resist the rite are stigmatised, including being referred to as ‘musagane’, which means an outcast in the local dialect.
Martha Maginga, 19, said she was first approached by her grandmother to undergo the rite when she was only nine years old.
“While in class four, my family told me it was high time I became a woman. But on the morning of the event, I locked myself in my bedroom knowing it was a taboo to carry out the cut after 8am,” Martha recalls.
She noted that girls are taught to embrace FGM as the gateway to adulthood and marriage and to earn respect in the community.
Besides the prestige associated with the rite, she said, many girls and their families were lured into the practice by gifts during the ceremonies.
“The FGM candidate and her parents are showered with gifts, including money, by relatives and other members of the community as a way of congratulating them for embracing the cultural practice,” Martha observed.
She praised the work of Hope for Girls and the Visa Rescue Centre, saying they had empowered many girls with knowledge and skills to protect themselves against FGM.
The director told Education News that they host about 200 girls every year during the FGM season until it is over and it’s is safe for them to go back home.
“The practice is to blame for the poor education standards as it often leads drop outs, early marriages, deaths and absenteeism as candidates recuperate after the cut,” added Maginga.
Noting that the Kuria East constituency came last in the county in the 2019 national examination results, the CEC called on education stakeholders to join hands in fighting FGM.
County Director of Education Elizabeth Otieno warned that those who promote the vice would face the full force of the law.
“We have liaised with the police to end the harmful act against our girls by ensuring we bring to book those who go against the government’s directive,” said Otieno.
