Kenya’s battle to eradicate FGM

Kenya’s former President Uhuru Kenyatta made history during the 2019 Nairobi Summit on International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) when he pledged to end Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) by 2022. According to UNICEF, about four million girls and women in Kenya have undergone FGM; 21 per cent of girls and women aged 15 to 49 have been subjected to the practice.

Yet despite widespread efforts, FGM is still being practised in parts of Kenya. In those places, the number of forced early marriages among young girls has gone up, along with health complications resulting from the procedure.

Awareness campaigns by state and non-state actors doggedly persist, however, reaching out to men, elders, and even motorcycle taxi drivers. Below are some of the most notable ongoing efforts.

Campus Dialogues Men End FGM Foundation, an organisation that lobbies stakeholders to prevail upon men to join the fight against FGM, has launched Campus Dialogues, or #TubongeNaComrades, to sensitize male university students to the harmful effects of FGM.

The inaugural session took place at the University of Embu in October 2022, with students learning about types of FGM; the prevalence of the practice; its effects on girls and women, including enjoyment of marital relationships; and what constitutes an offence under the 2011 Anti-FGM Act. Other sessions have taken place at technical and vocational schools or are part of training programmes.

Despite this multipronged approach, Kenya is far from realizing Kenyatta’s goal of total eradication. A 2022 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) released in January by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics shows that the incidence of FGM declined by six per cent during the previous eight years—similar to declines noted over the same periods since 1998.

One of the biggest impediments to progress is cross-border FGM, with parents and elders spiriting girls to neighbouring countries to avoid prosecution, which carries a minimum punishment of three-year imprisonment and a Ksh200,000 (1,600 dollars) fine.

Loloju says that FGM is rampant in some of these countries and that in turn is hampering progress in Kenya. “Cross-border FGM is real, but my team, together with security agencies, is on the ground to ensure the border is secure,” said Loloju.

Domitila Chesang’, founder of I-Am Response Foundation, an organization campaigning against FGM and child marriages in Kenya’s West Pokot, says cross-border practices are rife in the region. “The only way to eliminate cross-border FGM is by putting up police stations at the border points. The stations must also have gender desks to handle cases related to gender violence,” she said. She also blamed bad road networks for making it difficult to undertake proper surveillance.

Kenya and four other East African countries (Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Somalia) have endorsed a regional plan to eliminate cross-border FGM, but it will be an uphill battle given the prevalence of the practice in these countries (ranging from .3 per cent in Uganda to 98 per cent in Ethiopia). According to Unicef, these five countries account for about 25 per cent (48.5 million) of circumcised girls and women globally.