Kenya is one of the countries in Africa where the fight against retrogressive traditional and cultural practices remain.
There are perilous traditional practices that still exist and the government has been grappling with them.
These practices jeopardise the lives of the individuals and the main goal of the government is eradicate them.
Some of these practices are early marriages, Female Genital Mutilation and Sexual and Gender-Based Violence.
Recently, Kilifi county was on the spot following the high rate at which young girls are married off.
Some 47.4 per cent of the girls in the county have been married off before the age of 18 and the outcome is adverse.
Cases of early pregnancies, contracting diseases, school dropouts have increased.
Why then should we destroy the lives of innocent girls by marrying them off in the name of practising our traditions?
Female Genital Mutilation is also another headache that different organisations including the World Health Organization and United Nations Children’s Fund in conjunction with the Ministry of Health have been trying to eradicate.
Now that the government has turned much of its attention to the matter, at least FGM cases have declined.
There is hope this war will be won.
The UN estimates that 200 million women and girls have undergone Female Genital Mutilation.
Most of those women are in Africa.
The Somali in particular leads with 98 per cent of the girls and women who have undergone the cut.
It has also surfaced in other countries like Sudan, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Eritrea.
Due to deep-rooted beliefs and norms, different communities have sunk into the practice as they believe that it forms part of their traditions.
A girl can't be accepted in a community without being circumcised as much as it is a painful practice that has lifelong physical and psychological effects.
It poses health risks including death. Most girls may experience excessive bleeding after the procedure which can lead to death.
Harassing both young girls and women sexually and violence against them must also end.
Some not all cultural practices are retrogressive, some are outrightly outdated and must be done away with.
The government and communities need to work together to control and prevent such harmful practices.
Change begins with us.
Let the government put more effort into creating awareness about the dangers of such practices.
People need to be educated on the importance of respecting individual rights as well as embracing equality among themselves.
Again, more clear policies and laws that address these harmful practices should be implemented and enforced.
This can at least help by making individuals, especially the communities involved in it change their behaviour and attitudes towards the practices.
Lastly, there should be programmes that educate and empower women on their rights, their health and society in general.
The writer is a communication and media student at Rongo University
Edited by Kiilu Damaris