As Kenya and the rest of the world took a break from school and work to celebrate Christmas and the coming New Year, thousands of girls in my community in Kuria, Migori county, are spending the festivities in cruel and unnecessary pain.
According to media reports in the past week and concurring reports from human rights activists, there have been reported cases of female genital mutilation, despite clear bans and directives by the government.
FGM affects about 3,000 girls annually in the Kuria community. With the ceremonies still underway in some parts of the community, this poses a huge risk to young girls, especially with schools closed for the holidays.
We have seen reported cases of cross boarder FGM along the Tanzania border, and also emerging trends of door-to-door cutting. Some of the women and girls have been forcefully coerced to undergo the cut leading to physical injuries. The cut girls are also publicly paraded for the traditional celebrations. This amounts to gross violation of human rights for the girls in the community.
There have also been efforts to address the situation, including stepping up temporary rescue centers in secondary schools. This has been through partners, government and non-state actors working in the region.
However, the response still faces a number of challenges that threaten to see the number of cases rise. Door-to-door FGM is difficult to control, since the cutter is invited to secretly cut the girls at home.
Lack of operational rescue centres has posed a great threat to them as there are also limited facilities and resources to cater for the girls at the temporary rescue centers.
There has also been slow response from the police to coordinate rescue and arrests because of the violent pro-FGM crowds during the celebrations.
The future of the girls is also at stake. Most of the cut girls are likely not to report back to school due to nursing wounds. Some will also drop out to school and end up in child marriages. FGM, often done through unsanitary and non-medical methods, sometimes leads to loss of life.
President Uhuru Kenyatta committed to ending FGM by 2022 and has also ratified treaties seeking to protect women and girls against any form of violation of human rights. This all seems like a pipe dream now.
The government should through the police act fast to respond to FGM cases by fast tracking rescue of at risk girls and arrest of perpetrators for legal action. The county and national government should also set aside emergency funds to respond to FGM; facilitate transport for rescued girls and facilitate the temporary rescue centers to accommodate the cut girls.
The Judiciary should also fast track prosecution of the arrested persons for justice to be served. This will help respond to the rising cases of FGM in Kuria and protect the girls in the community. It will not be a happy New Year for Kenya until it is a happy New Year for our girls.
Mwita is an anti-FGM champion and a youth advocate at the Network for Adolescents and Youth of Africa (NAYA Kenya).
