Mary Bhoke (not her real name) is a form two student in one of the local secondary schools in Ntimaru sub county, Kuria east constituency, Migori county.
Bhoke is not your ordinary student. She is a survivor of the brutal Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), un unlawful practice that she underwent after turning 11, with claims of making her transition into womanhood, a longstanding tradition observed by the Abakuria community in Western Kenya, every three years.
Bhoke vividly recalls that fateful day in December 2020, deep in Mutarakwa village where she, alongside fifteen others underwent the cut that almost claimed her life.
A week prior to the ordeal, she told this writer in an exclusive interview, she was at home absorbed in the usual house chores as rays of an afternoon sun scorched mercilessly when five unusual visitors arrived.
Two among the five were her paternal aunts while the rest were women unknown to her. Her mother ushered them in, as it normally happens in any African setting when one receives guests.
They sat under the shade of a mango tree for a deep conversation. Occasionally, they would train their eyes on her making her to feel uncomfortable. Thereafter, her mom called her to greet the visitors who then made her seat at the center of the circled meeting. They told her how she had ‘come of age’ and the responsibilities attached to it.
Her young mind did not immediately comprehend the statement. She later learned that the three unknown women formed a web of initiators in the area. They made it clear that her mission was to help her transition from ‘a girl to a woman.’
“I felt very nervous but had to comply since it was a continuation of the customs passed down the lineage right from our ancestors,’’ she explained.
He mother then took an initiative of talking to her, explaining why it was important for her to ‘undergo the cut,’ reminding her that 20 years earlier, she had gone through the initiation.
The long-awaited day finally came. Bhoke and other girls were escorted from their homes at dawn and paraded in an open field where the initiators linked themselves to perform the act. She recalls feeling deep pain as the sharp blades of the razor cut her clitoris. After the cut, she was smeared with an indigenous medication, enduring the excruciating accompanied by intense bleeding.
“You are not supposed to cry. They believe that crying will upset the ancestors and spark curses on the girl, something that is tied to bad lack,” she said.
Ululations rent the air as their proud mothers on standby celebrated their daughters for successfully ‘undergoing the cut.’ They wrapped them in lessos and walked them back home before sunrise to avoid meeting locals on the way back.
At home, Bhoke’s situation turned into a nightmare as bleeding persisted. It led to hemorrhage and eventually passing out. “My world suddenly became dark,” she said, adding that she could only hear distant voices without recognizing what was being said.
When she gained conscious, she was a the Ntimaru sub county hospital, surrounded by a team of nurses working tirelessly to save her life. She had lost a lot of blood and required urgent transfusion. During her three-week hospital says, she underwent a major surgery to rectify the part of her genitals that had been tampered with.
She got healed but she still can’t walk upright. Her mind still flashes back to what happened years ago. Exit Bhoke, enter 17-year-old Brenda Machera (not her real name), a form three student who also underwent the cut.
Unlike Bhoke who was forced into it by people close to her, Brenda underwent the cut due to peer pressure. “Due to fear, hostility, isolation and stigma, I decided to go for it so as to fit in the circle of my friends who had already ‘transitioned to womanhood,’ something I greatly regret,” Brenda says.
Luckily for Brenda, her experience was not complicated. But the act still carries scars of intimidation, vowing to champion against the tradition.
Brenda works closely with the likes of Rhoda Ghati Marowa, a leader at the Matare Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Church, doubling up as a high school teacher. The 44-year-old survivor initiated the anti-FGM unit in the Church, that acts as an outreach wing to the community in demystifying the myths, unlocking fear, sensitizing, empowering and creating awareness to young girls and women.
‘’The church plays a critical role in amplifying dignity of the women over their bodies and adds the voice of reason in the culture myths,’’ the tutor said.
Her initiatives have seen most schools in the region create space for integrity clubs bringing together both teachers and students to nurture ant-FGM champions.
The major challenge, she says, is convincing the circumcisers to abandon the tradition, urging the community to join her in influencing mindset and behavioral change for the future generation.
Her sentiments are shared by 24-year-old champion and influencer Tabitha Ghati, who is
advocating for the end of FGM. “I am not only a role model to the girls but I am also cutting across the past, present and future generations. We need to work together to better our community,” said Ghati, who recently graduated with Bachelor of Education at the Kenyatta University.
Male champions have not been left out. Moses Wanka who is the founder of Quick Peace for Africa Community Based Organisation (CBO), is behind the Angamiza tohara kwa wanawake (end FGM) campaign, working closely with organizations such as NAYA Kenya.
Founded in 2024, the CBO has been instrumental in offering financial literacy to FGM survivors. The CBO supports widows and girls rescued from the hands of circumcisers, offering psychosocial support to end trauma and stigma.
Lucas Matiko, a healthcare worker in Ntimaru is also an anti-FGM champion. “Rights of girls to access healthcare services and education is in not debatable,” he noted.
A father of four daughters, Matiko is actively engaged in the community forums and has been involved in a lot of dialogues with parents to bring out positive behavioral change, with his efforts alongside others registering some positive strides.
Sectorial players like Matiko says efforts toward ending FGM are slowed down by Kuria being on the border with Tanzania, where the act is also rampant, with the circumcisers crossing in and out of Tanzania and vice versa whenever authorities stage a crackdown.
At the border, Moses Gikaro, through his cross-border organization that was established in 2004 works with police to repatriate back girls who cross over to undergo the cut in Tanzania.
“This month alone, I have rescued six minors who had gone to the neighboring country and were taken to camps for their safety,” he said.
John Rioba, Itongo sublocation assistant chief is among administrators on the forefront of advocating to end the practice in his community. Through his efforts, law enforcement has been enhanced and locals have embraced his support by working together through community policing, an approach that sees cases being reported to his office.
It has however not been smooth-sailing for him. Some of his properties were vandalized as some community members pushed back on his anti-FGM initiatives.
During this December school holiday, the assistant chief has managed to rescue over 300 girls who were almost undergoing the cut.
“The challenge is lack of a safe house in Ntimaru. We have to seek this service in another sub county which is very draining,’’ he added, appealing to the government to build a safe house in the area.
With the establishment of The Anti FGM Board of Kenya a semi-autonomous government agency, the administrator is hopeful that they will consider setting up a safe house/ rescue center in his locality this will go in a long way to enhance safety of the girls.
According to the latest data from the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) 2022, the national prevalence of FGM among women aged 15-49 years has significantly declined: with National Prevalence (2022): 15% of women aged 15-49 years have undergone FGM, down from 21% in 2014 and 38% in 1998 with Decline in younger generations: Prevalence among girls aged 15-19 has reduced from 26% in 1998 to 9.1% in 2022, indicating a positive trend.
