Early marriage, FGM slammed for holding back NEP girls, women

Another threat is defilement cases that are often swept under the carpet with elders being called upon to use alternative dispute resolution commonly known as ‘Maslah’.

The concern was raised during International Women’s Day that was marked at Iftin Girls Secondary School on Wednesday.

Speakers said the fight against the vices can only be won if all stakeholders who include government agencies, parents, civil society  and clerics come together for a common cause.

Sarah Bonaya from Kenya National Commission  on Human Rights said that as long the fight against the vices doesn't have the goodwill of all stakeholders, little will be achieved.

“It is good to be honest with each other and face facts as they are. For us to prosper as a community, we must treat our girls and women with the dignity that they deserve. We have failed as pastoralists on that front,” she said.

Bonaya, who was the chief guest, challenged girls to remain focused and disciplined if they want to achieve their dreams and never to be distracted along the way.

“Everything that you deserve or need to progress is within you. You hold your own destiny, so it is you to choose the path you want your life to take,” she told the students.

Garissa county executive for Gender Hawa Abdi said that the department will remain steadfast in working closely with the security apparatus and other relevant departments to protect women and girls from abuse.

“We have men who have made it a habit of using Maslah to deny our young girls and women justice. They have turned the practice into their  cash cow. This is very wrong. As the county government, we are saying no more Maslah and whoever is found engaging in this will face the full force of the law,” she said.

Salima Bare, a trainer of trainers in cervical cancer at the Garissa county referral hospital, used the opportunity to encourage women to go for early cancer screening.

“Just imagine nine deaths in a day them you multiply that in a year. The numbers are extremely shocking. We are loosing so many people per day. It is for this reason that the Ministry of Health has decided to introduce HPV vaccine and its routine immunisation,"she said.

Mrsa Bare, a nurse, disclosed that next week the ministry will roll out the HPV vaccine for girls between the ages of 10-14.

The outreach programme, she said, will be carried out in all primary schools after which it will be incorporated in the county’s routine vaccination.

She regretted that cancer related cases in Garissa and Northeastern at large remain high, something she attributed to pastoralism where most cases are always detected at stage four when it is already too late.

“We have started screening in all health facilities in Garissa. All the staff at the dispensaries have been trained and equipment brought. So there is no more travelling to Nairobi and other parts of the country to seek treatment or even diagnosis,” she said.

Last month, Health CS Susan Nakhumicha officially launched the Garissa Regional Cancer Centre.