According to the World Health Organization, more than 200 million girls and women have undergone female genital mutilation in 30 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia where FGM is practised. This is a big number of women undergoing a practice that is not only outdated but barbaric and inhuman.
FGM has widely been recognised as a violation of human rights, and available research has proven the practice has no medical benefits. Women who undergo FGM, according to studies, experience serious health complications such as cysts, infections, complications at childbirth and even death, not to mention the psychological trauma
As the world celebrated the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation on February 6, it is worth noting that the Kenyan government has taken pragmatic steps to end FGM. Still, there is a lot of work to be done to completely eradicate, if not crush this vice.
According to the Kenya Demographic Health Survey of 2022, the prevalence of FGM in Kenya is 15 per cent, with the Northeastern region, several northern districts in the Eastern and Rift Valley regions recording the highest numbers.
Why would a progressive country like Kenya accommodate FGM? Part of the answer lies in cultural beliefs. While cultural preservation is important, it is high time we called out practices that are not a reflection of a progressive society.
In the past, it was alleged that FGM would help preserve the purity and dignity of women before marriage. However, such a permanent and irreversible act cannot be used as a prelude to cultural preservation in the 21st century.
The introduction in the Kenyan Constitution of an office to specifically promote the interests of women and girls within the counties is a step in the right direction. Concerted efforts at the local level will go a long way to educating the communities about the dangers posed by FGM.
Woman representatives of the prevalent counties should champion the social agenda on FGM and rally the support of other women leaders to continue pushing for laws and policies that will help fight the vice. As they work on the laws and policies, they also need to engage communication experts to help with behaviour change.
While times have changed, altering someone’s mindset on a belief they have held since time immemorial will need the intervention of experts who understand social behaviour change communication. This framework uses the strategies of advocacy, behaviour change communication and community mobilisation to influence both individual and societal change. This is what we should be driving at to fully eradicate FGM.
There also needs to be proper coordination of messages and activities across a variety of channels to reach multiple levels of society, from the elders to the mothers to the children and finally the community.
Culture is dynamic and not static. Its fluid nature makes it susceptible to change and thus progressive measures should be taken by communities to abandon retrogressive, archaic and harmful practices such as FGM that have negative, far-reaching immediate, short and long-term (often lifelong) effects on the physical and psychological health of women and girls.
Since the enactment of the Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act of 2011, which was passed to advance the rights of women and girls to a positive cultural context and to protect against harmful practices, there has been a positive shift towards anti-FGM practices.
The Constitution grants the freedom for one to exercise their culture. However, that freedom has to be carried out in line with other constitutional provisions. Culture entails various modes of expression which should not cause harm to another person in its expression.
While communication experts will play an integral role in this fight, there needs to be concerted action in all sectors: health, education, finance, justice and women's affairs.
Organisations like the Anti-FGM Board of Kenya should be consulted closely and more outreach programmes by our women leaders introduced to bolster the fight against FGM. It is our collective duty to speak out against this dangerous and outdated cultural practice so our girls and women can live healthy and fulfilling lives.
Communications professional and assistant secretary at the Public Relations Society of Kenya @vivienneatieno
