Circumcision Story Leaves Group in Tears
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The Nation (Nairobi) | September 17, 2004
Nation Reporter, Nairobi
A 13-year old girl yesterday electrified an international conference when she narrated how she was circumcised when she was only eight years old.
"I am a victim of female genital mutilation which brought me pain, horror and shock and has left an indelible mark on my mind," she said, leaving many of the delegates in tears.
"That is the the day I will never forget," she said, as she urged the civil society to spread a strong message against FGM to the rural areas instead of concentrating their work in urban centres.
She also asked the government to introduce FGM as a subject in schools.
Home affairs minister Linah Kilimo said the law abolishing circumcision of girls had been ignored by some communities.
"Though 38 per cent of women in Kenya are circumcised, the figure is almost double in some districts where between 80 and 90 per cent of girls have been cut," she said, at the Female Genital Mutilation conference at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre yesterday.
"I am appealing to the inter-ministerial committee on children to ensure that the Children's Act is fully implemented," said Mrs Kilimo, adding that no structures had been put in place to enforce it.
The Act, which was introduced in 2001, prohibits early marriage and circumcision of children and any other acts endangering their health. Those found guilty risk imprisonment.
Vice-President Moody Awori said Kenya would ratify the Maputo Protocol, on the protection of the rights of women and children, aimed at eradicating female circumcision.
