Student Perspectives on FGM

Reginah A., Form 3

FGM is degrading and dehumanising. It must be stopped. It is hard to put an end to it, but let us hold hands together and stop it, and we encourage countries to come up with teams to monitor.

We need to find more alternatives on how to end FGM. One way that I would like to suggest, or might help is educating the communities on the dangers of FGM. The second option is to visit each village and educate girls and tell them that every girl has a right to say no to FGM and they should not be help back by their cultural beliefs. Girls have a rights to be educated. FGM has led to loss of blood and death.

Different communities have different beliefs. Some believe that education for a girl is unnecessary and the boys only deserve education. They just circumcise girls and marry them off. Some girls believe that they cannot be married if they are not circumcised, but all this is lies. A girl should go to school to be educated on the dangers of FGM.

I would like to encourage the girls of Daraja to hold hands together and go to their communities and be women of WISH by teaching all the people on the dangers of FGM. Let’s work together by raising our voices saying “NO TO FGM.” 

Bethsheba G., Form 3

“The Borana community are people from the northern part of Kenya. including sub-clans (the Sabbo and Gonna) and many other minor clans. Borana people practice pastoralism. They keep cattle and camels in the camps. The Borana community practises FGM, which is one of the worst parts of their rituals. I think this came about due to doing it for “sunna.”

FGM is groups of girls coming together in one room and all of them share one knife, even though they don’t know each other’s status. I was done to FGM when I was in class 5 in 2012. I was young and it made me to feel inferior, since I believed I am not like other people in high school.

Then, at Daraja, we were taught “WISH” lessons, which later made me to think about it and let it go. It never disturbed me again. My aim is that I am thinking how I will go and rescue other girls not to do the same. I think it was a matter of being creative and confident to be like a role model to girls in the Borana community.” 

Beth W., Form 2

“The effect of FGM is that girls lose a lot of blood and this can cause anemia, which is the lack of blood in the body. Also, a girl is likely to be infected by diseases at a higher rate, and also have painful sex. When a girl is cut, there is a high chance of her dying.

In some communities, like in West Pokot, girls are forced to undergo the outdated cultural practice. Once a girl is circumcised, the majority are married off at a tender age while those who escape the knife and early marriage face the problem of a lack of sanitary towels to keep them in school.

An action on how to fight FGM should be taken. A person found practising FGM should be taken and jailed for her whole life. This is because carrying out FGM is committing a crime. We should fight against FGM because it is killing most of our girls who could be big people in the society. This is because after one has had FGM she is denied education which is a right to a girl.

We should fight against FGM because it is shutting down many dreams of girls in society.”