Narok rescue centre gives hope to Maasai girls escaping cut

The girls sing and danced happily, moving from one corner to another in the vast field that is their new home.

Despite the fact that most of them are in their early teenage years, their experiences will bring tears to the eyes of many who care to listen to them.

In their hearts rest memories of brave girls who defied the retrogressive female circumcision culture just to pursue their education.

They know all too well that female genital mutilation (FGM) is illegal in Kenya, and are grateful to the government for outlawing the outdated practice.

Most of them would now be third, fourth or fifth wives to men fit to be their grandfathers.

Their age mates, who agreed to undergo the cut, now have one, two or even more children.

The girls say their married friends look ‘worn out’ and older.

EARLY MARRIAGES

In the Maasai culture, once a girl is circumcised, it is believed that she is ready for marriage, regardless of her age.

“I would probably be herding my husband’s cows now, or thatching my mud-built house and performing all other wifely duties,” says one of the girls.

At 13 years, she swears that nothing will ever come between her and her dream to become a doctor.

The young girl scored an impressive 394 marks out of 500 in her end of term exams.

She is now at class six and is hoping to study all the way to university and beyond.

The girlis the last born in a family of nine and her five sisters have all been circumcised and married off at a tender age.

They never went beyond Standard Eight and all scored a mean grade of D in their Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exams.

“I did not want to live a pathetic life like that of my sisters who were circumcised and married off immediately,” she says.

Her dreams were almost shattered when her mother told her that she had grown old enough to be circumcised.

DREAMS ALMOST SHATTERED

This, she later learnt, was meant to prepare her for marriage life. That was way back in December 2009.

The circumcision ceremonies usually take place in December.

She had to think long and hard on how to evade the cut and save her dreams of a better life.

“I ran away from home one early morning,” she says.

She walked for hours, from her Mopel Village to Tareto Maa Rescue Centre in Shartuka, Trans Mara West in Narok County.

The fact that she did not know her way there made the journey even difficult. She enquired from passers-by for the direction to the girls’ rescue centre.

She says she does not want to go back to her mother until she is old enough and is through with her education.

“I know they are looking for the smallest opportunity to have me circumcised. I have to remain in school, which also doubles as my home, for safety,” she says.

Her story is not very different from that of her 13 year-old friend and village mate.

DRUNK PARENTS SPILL BEANS

Being the first born in a family of five, her parents expected her to be a good example to her siblings.

Out of their drunkenness, her parents one day spilt the beans.

“My younger sister one day overheard my parents, who were drunk at the time, talk about my being an adult. They wanted me to get married so that they could have more cows in their boma.

“They were excited about getting rich, and I was their gateway to richness,” she says.

She adds: “For them to achieve this, I had to be circumcised and graduate into womanhood. They slated the ceremony for December 25, 2010. I had to act fast to save myself from the knife.”

She ran to her uncle’s home who received her with both arms.

He hosted her for a whole term before transferring her to Tareto Maa.

She is now in standard six. She has not gone home for three years now and does not know how it now looks like.

“My parents said one day I will be circumcised, whether I like it or not. But before that happens, I should not go back home,” she says.

She too wants to be a doctor and she scored 399 marks out of 500 in her latest examination.

She says her father is very hostile and her mother cannot rescue her.

RESCUE CENTRE

The two girls are among 123 others who have found hope at Tareto Maa Rescue Centre.

Mr Joel Kelian, who is the centre’s project co-coordinator, says they support girls rescued from FGM and early marriage and help them get education.

He says the centre was started in 2009 by Ms Gladys Kiranto, an Austrian citizen.

Having come from the Maasai community, she understood what the girl child in her community underwent.

She knew that in her community, women are voiceless and are ere expected to be very submissive, even on matters directly affecting them.

“She has made effort to see the girls get sponsorship and achieve their dreams,” says Mr Kelian.

He says the community around them is very supportive and shares part of their harvest with them.

He says with the success of the rescue centre, Maasai girls now have hope and no longer have to undergo the cut.

“Our girls here have vowed never to face the knife. Ours is to offer them a conducive environment,” he says.

Mr Kelian says they, however, face hostility from the girls’ parents who view them as the source of defiance for their other daughters.

“But we are working on a programme that will [help] in reconciling the girls and their parents. We are intending to use religious leaders to achieve this,” he says.