Counties leading in FGM also lead in maternal deaths

A procession to mark the International Day of zero Tolerance to FGM in Garissa County on February 6, 2017. Counties in Kenya that still practice FGM are leading in maternal deaths. PHOTO | ABDIMALIK HAJIR | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Mrs Hussein said that FGM was being practiced before Islam and Christianity came to the region.
  • UNICEF representative Werner Schultink said FGM is rooted in tradition and culture.
  • FGM continues to affect millions of girls and women every year with about 3 million of them being at risk of undergoing the cut

Counties in Kenya that still practice female circumcision (FGM) are leading in maternal deaths during child birth, it has been revealed.

Speaking in Sankuri Primary School on the International Day of Zero Tolerance to FGM in Garissa County, Principal Secretary for Gender Affairs Zeinab Hussein said the north eastern region leads in FGM at 97 per cent against the country's average of 21 per cent.

"It's only women who have undergone the cut who understand and know the complications they go through during child birth. This is a culture that we should say no to and save our women from imminent deaths," said Mrs Hussein.

Mrs Hussein said that FGM was being practiced before Islam and Christianity came to the region and, therefore, those tying it to religion are misleading their faithful.

"This is purely a cultural issue that needs to be to be stopped bearing in mind the adverse side effects on the health of our mothers in the child bearing age," she said.

ANTI-FGM LAW

An anti-FGM activist and former nominated MP Sofia Abdi said that she fought hard to ensure that the anti-FGM Bill was passed despite immense resistance from her male counterparts, especially those from regions with high FGM prevalence rates.

"It was not easy coming up with the Bill as some male colleagues told me on the face that they cannot legislate culture. It took a lot of convincing to pass the Bill after pleading with them," said Ms Abdi.

Ms Abdi is the founder member of Womankind, an NGO based in Garissa Town that assists girls escaping FGM.

She said when they started the campaign in 1988, it was a taboo to talk about a woman’s private parts in public.

EFFECTS ON WOMEN'S HEALTH

"We stood by our campaign strategy and because we were talking of what we had gone through and the adverse health side effects we were faced with, it was easier for us to face our adversaries. We are glad that today FGM can be talked (about) in a public gathering," she said.

The activist urged the government to allocate more funds to the anti-FGM Board to enable it carry out rigorous and sustained campaigns at the grassroots.

The former MP urged the youth to embrace the campaign against FGM saying that the boys should support their mothers and sisters in the fight.

In his speech, UNICEF representative Werner Schultink said FGM, rooted in tradition and culture, continues to affect millions of girls and women every year with an estimated three million of them being at the risk of undergoing the cut