A charming landscape with a beautiful scenic view is what welcomes us to Samburu county. This is after about a six-hour journey by road covering 429km from Nairobi.
The county has its much-celebrated champions, among them peace champion and Samburu West MP Naisula Lesuuda and anti-FGM crusader Dr Josephine Kulea.
The two represent a symbol of hope to a larger fraction of Samburu girls born and raised in a community marginalised and deeply rooted with harmful cultural practices.
Mentioning FGM to the Samburu Council of Elders is deemed taboo. Consequences can be dire, a curse to be precise, a belief highly guarded by the elders.
The elderly in this community are a symbol of unity and a guiding factor in ensuring the community culture and practices are adhered to, with some practised secretly in the darkest of night, such as FGM.
FGM is termed a form of violence against women and violation of human rights according to the 1993 declaration that set to eliminate violence against women.
The acronym, which stands for female genital mutilation, refers to all procedures involving partial or total removal of the female external genitalia or other injury to the genital organs for non-medical reasons.
So much pain is involved that the practice has been quoted to have long psychological impact to the victims at a later stage in life.
Among the cultural people of Samburu, it is conducted on girls of younger ages, ranging between six and 14 years old. This is followed by a girl being identified by a suitor, who in most cases is an elderly person with a great deal of wealth, mostly animals.
The government has engaged the elders in the community to eliminate the practice through a commitment held at Suguta Mar Mar.
The Kisima Declaration, which drew elders from the community's three subcounties, saw them commit to end FGM and early child marriage by the end of 2021 in an event presided over by the then President Uhuru Kenyatta.
However, one year down the line, a lot remains said than done.
Figures acquired from the county's biggest referral hospital attest to a lack of political goodwill from some of the area leaders as being the reason behind the illegal exercise that continues to harm women and girls who experience complications during and after delivery.
According to data from Samburu Referral Hospital, at least 26 cases of mother's delivery complications associated with FGM were reported for the year 2021, with another 1,280 pregnant women presented in antenatal care with complications associated with FGM in the same year.
Some 258 cases were also recorded within the facility between January and February 2022, with February accounting for a record high of 246 antenatal care cases.
The United Nation Population Fund states that 1 in 5 women have suffered from female genital mutilation, with 23 percent of Kenya's girls being married off before their 18th birthday.
Pressure continues to be mounted on the communities to abstain from retrogressive culture.
Anxiety for exposure and willingness to embrace modernity is slowly turning the tides to progressive aspects, contrary to the community tradition, which views women as men’s property and, therefore, deemed not protected in cases of rape and abuse.
The unwillingness to educate and empower the girl child has been detrimental as told by survivors of gender-based violence during interviews at a rescue centre.
EARLY MARRIAGE
Marya* (not her real name), 10, from Barsaloi is one of the survivors. She narrates how her thirst for education made her run away after being married.
She reminisces her encounter having escaped from her husband of 70 years, to whom she had to assume the role of being a third wife immediately after undergoing the cut.
This, she said, didn't last for a month as she had to escape through the help of her mother, who was against the union.
"My father, who is a drunkard, kept insisting there was no need of educating a girl, something my mother was supporting, considering her countless effort of trying to enrol me to the nearest school," she said.
"This, however, would ensue into helpless battle and assault that would leave my mother grieving in pain with visible scars," she said.
The elderly man would designate to her the responsibility of looking after goats, with consequences of being beaten if she declined, something that provoked her to escape.
"My feet could no longer carry me after running. Exhausted as I was, I decided to sleep on a tree trunk after spending three days in the bush without food and water."
She was awoken by patrolling administration police officers, who attended to her and brought her to the Mary Immaculate Rescue Centre, a sisters-led missionary outreach that provides shelter, education and spiritual nourishment to rescued girls.
The soft-spoken firstborn in the family of four is in Grade 3 and aspires to become a doctor when she grows up.
Marya is grateful for the continuous spiritual ministering from the sisters at the early marriage rescue centre.
SCHOOL DROPOUT
Her story is also shared by Lucia*, a Form 1 student. She looks back on how poverty and persistent drought forced her mother to conspire with her uncle to have her drop out of school after undergoing the cut.
"My uncle immediately tagged a bride price on me and a relevant suitor was found," she says.
"Unfortunately all this was happening with the acknowledgement of my mother, who played a major role in bride price negotiations, something my brother felt differently about."
I am 13 years old and grateful for the sacrifices made by everyone to ensure I get an education. I couldn’t speak Swahili or English, but now I can read and write
Lucia remembers how her brother hatched a plan that would see her escape to a girl rescue centre at night despite the consequences of a curse from the elders upon revelation.
Her mother and uncle were later arrested and charged in a court of law, with each being released on a Sh200,000 cash bail.
Lucia has since reconciled with her parents and hopes to pursue a career in nursing after completing her secondary studies.
Zilpa*, who was not privileged to step into any classroom, recalls how every time her mother would save money with the intention of buying her uniform, the money would be stolen by the drunkard dad.
“I witnessed my elder sisters being married off and none of them attended school. Being the lastborn in a family of six, my fate seems to have been sealed,” she says.
A bride price of 3kg of sugar forced his elder brother to help her escape from being another statistic of early child marriage.
“My brother, who had moved to Nanyuki after finishing his KCSE examination, came to my rescue. He came and took me to a well-wisher, who enrolled me into a learning institution,” she says.
The lastborn in the family of five appreciates her brother’s love and commitment to ensuring she starts education.
The outbreak of the coronavirus in the country, which was followed by lockdown, threatened her education.
“My sponsor could not continue supporting my education after she, too, lost her job, but she was kind enough to connect me to a child rescue facility," she said.
"It's been two years since I arrived at Mary Immaculate Rescue Centre,” she says with pride.
"I am 13 years old and grateful for the sacrifices made by everyone to ensure I get an education. I couldn’t speak Swahili or English, but now I can read and write."
CHANGE OF TACK
Samburu Gender deputy director Daniel Lemushuna calls for continued engagement with the elderly in the community to help win the fight against early child marriage and FGM.
He says strong cultural connotations attached to FGM have made the fight against the practice hard, necessitating a change in approach.
“Culture is an important aspect of Samburu people,” he says.
"Letting go of FGM practice overnight is something not easy because of the personal values attached to it. The fact that the elderly are the ones tasked with safeguarding these customs makes it even more difficult."
Clannism and political interference are some of the major factors also cited to be hindrances in the fight against FGM, as explained by Lemeshuna.
Samburu county commissioner Henry Wafula said the government's effectiveness in the fight has led to reduced reports of the practice, with few incidents of the practice being conducted in secrecy, mostly at night for fear of being prosecuted.
"I have instructed area chiefs and their respective administration to be very vigilant and arrest any case of FGM and child marriage in the county," he said.
"No elder should be allowed to hold a kangaroo court that purports to settle matters pertaining to FGM and child marriage in their jurisdiction."
A report jointly done by UNFPA-Unicef estimates that 303 arrests have been made by officers enforcing the Anti-FGM laws.
Of the 300 cases brought to court, 55 convictions and sanctions have been recorded since 2018. Some 51,375 girls were also saved in the year 2021 from FGM through continuous community engagement, the report adds.
United Nation Population gender programme analyst Dinah Mutinda explains the need to strengthen multisectoral coordination for a swift response.
"If someone marries and has intercourse with a child below 18 years, it automatically becomes defilement," she said.
"The existence of the Sexual Offences Act and Child Protection Act should not be substituted with cultural dynamics of any community that has normalised child marriage."
She condemned cultural practices that dictate that girls should be married off before 13 years, probably after undergoing FGM.
"It is good to sensitise the community on the importance of children's right to education," she said.
"Once the community embraces the right to education for both children, this will propel it to experience a social change that will ensure reduced cases of sexual abuse and child marriage."
FGM is the least reported harmful practice in Kenya, according to Healthcare Assistance Kenya.
This has been the harsh consequence of a curse or being levelled on an outcast for speaking against the culture.
Morans, who spoke on condition of anonymity, were reserved on the topic of FGM to outsiders, but acknowledged its existence.
They say it is practised in secrecy and speaking against it may make one be labelled an outcast and even be cursed for confronting the elders, who are the community's cultural custodians.
"As morans, the least we can do to a girl who doesn't want to undergo the cut is help her escape to a rescue centre in secret. This is, however, many a time pulled back by poor network connectivity as these incidents always happen in the remotest of villages."
The morans also acknowledged the need for more advocacy that will provide necessary opportunities for dialogue on matters related to FGM and the relevant legislation to eliminate the practice.
