KENYA: Religious Leaders Join
Anti-FGM Fight
Photo:
IRIN |
Health experts say FGM can
lead to complications |
ISIOLO, 30 March 2007 (IRIN) -
The decision by Muslim religious leaders in northeastern Kenya to talk about the
dangers of female genital mutilation (FGM) during Friday prayers has turned into
a significant campaign against the practice.
"We have managed to educate
people and convince many parents, including those with strong traditional
beliefs, that circumcising girls is not a requirement in Islam," said Sheikh
Harun Rashid of Isiolo Rahma Mosque.
"Our first assignment was to inform
the parents that the holy book [Quran] teaches that the painful act is not an
obligation; it is a tradition and not a religious obligation," he told IRIN in
Isiolo.
The campaign, which started in a small way 10 years ago, is now
spearheaded by the Muslim Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya. It still
relies heavily on teachings delivered during Friday prayers, to reach the large
Muslim populations in northeastern Kenya. More than 30 Mosques exist in Isiolo
and Garissa towns alone, and the campaign has been extended to the coastal
province as well.
"Our approach is different and cheap, unlike those
[workshops] done in hotels," Rashid added. "Our simple campaigns by imams and
Islamic schoolteachers are mainly conducted on Friday when large numbers of
Muslims attend weekly prayers so we convince many."
It was cruel and caused
the end of my marriage. I vowed the same will not be done to my
two daughters |
According to council officials, the campaign
has now spread across northeastern and parts of eastern provinces.
"Islam is very clear; no part of our bodies should be removed or
changed. Only boys are supposed to be cut," explained Sheikh Mohamed Abdi from
nearby Garissa, the largely Muslim capital of northeastern region.
"Parents from Somali and Borana tribes subjected their daughters to the
cruel act because they were misled to believe it was a religious obligation," he
added. "The practice has done a lot of damage to our girls - depriving many of
an interest in sex - an important leisure [activity] which Allah gave to all
human beings."
FGM was also linked with many divorces as a result of
sexual dissatisfaction, Abdi added.
Some agreed. Fatuma Mohamed, who
divorced her husband because he claimed she could not satisfy him sexually,
blamed her plight on FGM, saying it damaged her permanently. Now she sells
'miraa' - a popular narcotic plant - to make ends meet and take care of her two
daughters.
"I was very young, but still remember the day I was
circumcised," she told IRIN in Isiolo. "It was cruel and caused the end of my
marriage. I vowed the same will not be done to my two daughters."
Her
friend and business partner, Zainab Noor, disagreed, however. "The practice was
introduced to protect our girls," she said. "Whoever is opposing it is evil. The
community should fight any attempts to introduce immorality."
A young
girl at Garissa primary school said she was happy that she would not be
subjected to the act. "I am happy I will not face the same problem like some of
my classmates who have since left school after the cut," she said.
The
clerics say their campaign faces many challenges, including trying to change
strong traditional beliefs that support FGM among the pastoralist communities in
the region and inadequate resources that limit their movement between mosques.
Other anti-FGM campaigners say the religious leaders need to be
supported in their work because they have saved many girls from the problems
associated with it. "Many girls have missed learning, died or live in abject
poverty because of FGM," said Sofia Abdi. "The religious leaders need to support
the girls who have developed complications after the cut," she added. "Those
girls should be assisted to receive medical help and can be asked to help in the
campaign."
Widespread practice
FGM involves the
cutting and/or removal of the clitoris and other vaginal tissue, often under
unsanitary conditions. It is practised in at least 28 countries globally and the
United Nations Children's
Fund (UNICEF) estimates that up to 140 million girls and women around the
world have undergone some form of FGM.
It is practised extensively in
Africa, including in Kenya. But pressure from human-rights activists has so far
compelled 16 African governments to legislate against FGM, in line with the 2005
Maputo Protocol, an African regional document that explicitly prohibits and
condemns FGM.
Kenya has signed the protocol and banned the practice
under the Children's Act 2001, which protects girls from early marriage or
forced FGM, and charges anyone found practising FGM. But observers say the law
has proved extremely difficult to enforce.
Anti-FGM activists estimate
that 32 percent of all women between the ages of 15 and 49 in more than half of
Kenya's districts have undergone FGM. The numbers are high among the Kisii
ethnic group, the Maasai, Kalenjin, Taita/Taveta and the Meru/Embu.
WHO classification of FGM |
|
FGM I: Excision of the prepuce, with or without excision of
part or all of the clitoris
FGM II: Excision of the clitoris with
partial or total removal of the labia minora
FGM III: Excision of
part or all of the external genitalia and stitching or narrowing of the
vaginal opening (infibulation) |
The estimates are
highest in northeastern Kenya, where up to 98 percent of women are believed to
have undergone infibulation - the removal of part or all of the external
genitalia and/or sewing together of the vaginal opening, leaving only a small
outlet for urine and menstrual flow.
Health experts say complications
arising from the practice are common because most procedures are performed
without an anaesthetic, using rudimentary tools in unsanitary conditions. The
risk of spreading HIV/AIDS is also high.
According to the UN World Health Organization (WHO),
studies have shown that women who have undergone FGM are significantly more
likely to experience difficulties during childbirth and that their babies are
more likely to die as a result of the practice.
Apart from legislation,
Kenyan authorities and NGOs are trying to raise public awareness through
education campaigns and encouraging alternative rights of passage - a practice
where communities maintain the rituals that lead adolescent girls to womanhood
but exclude FGM.