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FGM Affects Health of 90 Percent of Girls in Southwest Kenya

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Published on Monday, 02 July 2007 02:46
At least 90 percent of girls aged between six and 10 years in Kenya's southwest Kisii district have undergone female genital mutilation (FGM), says a family health report from the area.Because of the rampant practice of FGM in the Kisii community, the report points out many women are having marital problems with their husbands.Kisii district secretary of Maendeleo ya Wanawake Organisation (women's development organisation)MYWO), Hellen Kombo, says the practice has persisted because of the myths held about the tradition.

"Some of us were warned against not undergoing the ritual because, our mothers used to tell us, we would never get married or be able to raise a family," Kombo said during a workshop attended by community workers and teachers in Kisii town at the weekend."There is no static culture and every cultural practice at one time or another turns outdated. This is why we have to discard FGM since we do not want to subject our daughters to the same sexual problems in marriage like us."

Meanwhile, a coordinator of the Programme on Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH) in Kisii, Jeria Moragia, told the workshop participants that FGM was one avenue of transmitting HIV/AIDS.She said women were having serious problems, including excessive bleeding when giving birth, psychological trauma and strained marital relationships, because they were subjected to the ritual.

Since the raising of public awareness on the health dangers of FGM was started in the district, the practice has dropped by one percent.Participants of the workshop have appealed to the Kenya government to enact a law forbidding FGM. They also asked the ministries of health and education as well as community leaders to use their influence to eradicate the practice.

Gucha branch MYWO chair, Bathseba Sanaya, said continuous education of the masses on the harmful effects of FGM was the best way to overcome the practice.She argued that it was not possible to do away immediately with such a deeply rooted cultural practice. But with various organisations and the government joining hands to preach against it, Sanaya added, "It will finally be eradicated from society".