WUNRN
Population Council
December 2008
Reducing FGM/C Among Somali Girls in Kenya
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In Kenya, the Population Council is working with Muslim scholars to develop consensus that FGM/C is not supported by Islam. Photo credit: Maryam Sheikh Abdi |
Nearly
all Somali girls, sometimes when they are as young as four years, undergo
female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C). This ancient practice involves the
removal of all or part of the female external genitalia for cultural, not
medical, reasons. Among Somalis in Kenya, the most severe form of FGM/C—called
type III—is the most common.* Focus groups and in-depth interviews with the
Somali community and their religious leaders have revealed that the best way to
reduce this practice is to demonstrate a lack of religious support for FGM/C.
Thus, Population Council staff members are working with Muslim scholars in
Kenya to develop consensus that the practice is not supported by Islam so that
this message can be conveyed by the scholars to their communities.
Rationale for FGM/C
When asked about the rationale for FGM/C, members of the Somali
community in Kenya cited several reasons, chiefly that FGM/C is a Somali
tradition as well as an Islamic requirement (even though the majority of
Muslims globally do not practice FGM/C). Community members indicated that they
were ready to listen to religious scholars and would be prepared to stop any
practices that are not in line with Islamic teachings.
On the basis of these findings, in 2005 the Population Council’s USAID-funded Frontiers in Reproductive Health program, in collaboration with UNICEF and the Kenya Ministry of Health, instituted a religious-oriented program to address the practice of FGM/C. It focuses on the Somali community living in Kenya’s North Eastern Province.
Facilitating dialogue
To support discussions on FGM/C and Islam, Frontiers arranged four symposia
in Wajir, involving 44 degree-holding, Arabic-speaking Somali Muslim scholars.
Medical experts, traditional circumcisers, and women who had undergone FGM/C
testified to the scholars, many of whom had little understanding of the
practice.
With UNICEF, the Council then organized a regional symposium, attended by 25 Kenyan scholars and one Saudi Arabian scholar. The Council, together with UNICEF, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and GTZ (German Technical Cooperation), followed this with a national seminar attended by 55 Somali and non-Somali scholars and a visiting scholar from Sudan. Facilitators led discussions on the status of FGM/C in Sharia (Islamic law) and discussed next steps for engaging communities in talking about the practice.
Teachings of Islam on FGM/C
The scholars participating in these symposia agreed that neither the Quran
nor the deeds, authentic sayings, and approvals of the Prophet support FGM/C,
and that there is no consensus among Muslim jurists on the practice. They also
agreed that Islam provides many relevant reasons for discontinuing FGM/C. The
scholars recommended that a gradual process be adopted to encourage abandonment
of FGM/C, starting with moving from type III FGM/C, the most extreme form, to a
milder version, and then eventually to no FGM/C.
These scholars were personally convinced that FGM/C is not supported by Islam, but most were still reluctant to publicly declare their opposition to the practice. However, “the fact that the scholars discussed the eventual abandonment of the practice indicates their acceptance that FGM/C has no religious basis—because under Islamic law a religious act cannot be abandoned,” said Council program officer and project leader Maryam Sheikh Abdi.
Several discussion sessions were held with different community groups—women, men, youth, teachers, chiefs, health providers, police officers, and cutters. In each session the non-Islamic nature of FGM/C was highlighted, together with the medical, human rights, and legal perspectives. The Council also produced resource materials (in Arabic and English) containing relevant Islamic texts that can be used during discussions with scholars and community members to illustrate the lack of religious support for the practice. Maryam has presented the Council’s findings to policymakers and advocates at international conferences in Washington, DC, Ethiopia, Japan, and Turkey.
Since January 2008, additional support from the Wallace Global Fund has enabled the Council to sustain this work at both the community and national levels. Maryam met with parliamentarians to review the National Plan of Action for the Elimination of FGM/C. Council staff members are part of the National Committee for the Abandonment of FGM/C. And the Council was part of the team that reviewed national educational curricula, with funding from UNICEF/Kenya. The team’s findings will be used to advocate for discussion of FGM/C in all curricula. The Council is continuing to work with Muslim scholars and imams and the community in general to help them become advocates for change and to hasten eradication of FGM/C.
“Change is likely to be slow, requiring a long commitment,” says Ian Askew, the Council’s Kenya-based director of reproductive health services and research. “We would like to persuade a few leaders and work with them to convince the majority.”
Sources
Abdi, Maryam Sheikh. 2008. “A religious oriented approach to addressing FGC
among the Somali community of Wajir, Kenya.” Frontiers in Reproductive
Health Final Report, Nairobi, Kenya: Population Council. (PDF)
Abdi, Maryam Sheikh, Guyo Jaldesa, and Ian Askew. 2008. “Managing and preventing female genital cutting (FGM/C) among the Somali community in Kenya.” Frontiers in Reproductive Health Final Report, Nairobi, Kenya: Population Council. (PDF)
Guyo Jaldesa, Askew Ian, Njue Carolyne, and Wanjiru Monica. 2005. “Female genital cutting among the Somali of Kenya and management of its complications.” Frontiers in Reproductive Health Final Report, Nairobi, Kenya: Population Council. (PDF)
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