Female Genital Mutilation practices in Kenya: - Feed the Minds

Local agencies and partners could reach some
of the most marginalised, by focusing some of
their resources on families outside the school
networks many of whom have limited levels of
literacy and are being missed currently by existing
intervention.
In Kisii it is recommended on the basis of this
research that:
• The current programme of girls empowerment
courses incorporating ARP and an intensive
community engagement programme is
extended to communities across the region;
• Local agencies are encouraged to establish
and support an active Kisii Network for
the Abandonment of FGM which shares
experiences of anti-FGM initiatives across
Kisii. This network could strengthen the
effectiveness of anti-FGM interventions by
taking a strategic role of reducing competition
and building collaboration between agencies;
• Local agencies could engage decisionmakers,
both male and female in greater
awareness raising and also use them to speak
out on initiatives to abandon FGM.
The practice is seen as largely a women’s
affair, hence the need to have prominent
women leaders who have taken a stand
personally and professionally against FGM.
However, men have a role to play as heads of
households providing the resources needed
for the ceremony, so it is important to include
them as well;
• The involvement of medical staff in
perpetuating FGM must be addressed by the
government more strictly, especially with the
increased reliance on health professionals to
carry out the procedure. The Ministry of Health
has in the past issued prohibitions against the
practice, but it appears not to have succeeded
in changing behaviour. It is important to revisit
this issue, and enforce the prohibition more
effectively, with stricter sanctions;
• School attendance being relatively high in
Kisii, however, families outside the school
networks many of whom have limited levels
of literacy are not being targeted by current
interventions. It is recommended that local
agencies and partners consider how they
can access this marginalised group of people
and engage them in the awareness raising
in relation to the rights of girls and women,
the health risks associated with FGM and its
illegality.
conclusion
The findings of this study show that, despite strong
social resistance, progress towards abandonment
of FGM can be achieved through well-focused,
incremental programmes. This study provides
some insights into the factors, in Kuria and Kisii,
which contribute to the continuation of FGM and
those which encourage its abandonment.
The study identified a section of the communities
in both Kuria and Kisii, who are informed about
the health risks of FGM and would prefer not to
have their daughters circumcised, but who feel
the stigmatisation of uncircumcised women is so
strong that they will send their daughters to be cut
in order to be socially acceptable. Reducing the
stigma against uncircumcised women is therefore
a crucial element in future strategies to encourage
abandonment in Kuria and Kisii. Although more
could be done to increase awareness about
the health risks and illegality of FGM, this study
suggests that a combination of having respected
figures in the community consistently opposing
FGM in their public and private lives, combined
with appropriate action taken against those who
continue the practice would help them to make the
brave step not to have their daughters circumcised.
ARP is practiced very differently in Kuria and
Kisii. The focus in Kuria, on providing primarily
Rescue Camps with training on FGM and an
ARP ceremony, has had some success in saving
girls from FGM, but only during the period
of the camp. However, in Kisii, an intensive
community sensitisation programme about FGM
was combined with a public ARP ceremony fully
integrated into a girls empowerment programme.
This approach has clearly been effective in
encouraging abandonment in rural communities
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35.