THE ALARMING INCREASE OF ‘MEDICALIZED’ FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION IS BECOMING A SIGNIFICANT ISSUE IN KENYA

written by: Joshua Wako

Elinah D found herself fighting for her life after experiencing complications during childbirth. To her dismay, the doctors in the Kenyan hospital referred to her condition as a typical example of the harmful and potentially fatal consequences of female genital mutilation (FGM).

Unlike many girls in East Africa, Elinah underwent FGM in a hospital, thanks to a healthcare provider who perpetuated this illegal practice. “I was seven years old… no one told me it would lead to so many problems,” recalled Elinah, who is now 35.

When Kenya banned FGM in 2011, few anticipated that the practice, traditionally performed publicly with pomp and ceremony, would shift to clandestine clinics and private homes, with nurses and pharmacists carrying out the procedure underground.

Known as medicalised FGM, this practice is endorsed by both healthcare professionals and communities as a “safe” way to preserve the tradition, despite the physical, mental, and sexual health risks to the victims.

According to a 2021 UNICEF report, medicalised FGM is on the rise in Egypt, Sudan, Guinea, and Kenya, jeopardizing the progress made by the East African nation in eradicating the practice, which involves the partial or complete removal of the clitoris.
Kenya estimates that FGM rates have dropped by more than half, “from 38% in 1998 to 15% in 2022.” However, campaigners caution that the actual figures are likely to be higher.

In Kisii county, located 300 kilometers (180 miles) west of Nairobi, over 80% of FGM procedures are performed by healthcare workers, according to government data.

Esiankiki Mary spent years administering the cut to young girls in the hilly region, believing it to be a supposedly safer alternative to the traditional ritual she herself underwent as a teenager.

PWF was informed by her that she would always utilize a new approach since she became aware of the risk of disease. She believed that she was making a positive impact on the community. As a healthcare professional, her valuable work increased her monthly income by 50% before she decided to stop practicing. Requests for her services came from various sources, including upper-class families.

According to the 67-year-old, “Traditions hinder progress. It takes a long time to let go of certain practices.” Rose, whose real name is not disclosed, is the daughter of an architect. She was at her grandmother’s house in Kisii when a healthcare professional arrived late at night to perform the procedure on an eight-year-old girl and her cousin.

“It felt like the world was ending, it was extremely painful,” she recounted her ordeal to PWF. Her grandmother instructed her to remain in isolation until the wounds healed. Now a student at the University of Nairobi, the 20-year-old actively campaigns against the practice, joining other survivors of female genital mutilation (FGM) in their efforts to eradicate the custom.

Cora, the youngest of five sisters raised in Kisii, expressed that she felt pressured to conform to the tradition when she underwent the procedure. “People feel like we have adopted Western culture in many ways… so they want to hold onto this (practice) as a way to preserve their culture,” the 31-year-old graduate shared with PWF.

The belief in FGM persists even among the diaspora, as families disregard local regulations and travel to Kenya for the procedure. In October of this year, a British man was convicted by a London court for arranging for a three-year-old girl to undergo medicalized FGM in Kenya.

“It is primarily done by the elite, who know it is wrong but do it to protect their culture,” activist Esnahs Nyaramba explained . “They claim that without this (cut), the girl will become promiscuous,” she added.

President William Ruto has urged Kenyans to cease practicing FGM, however, Nyaramba argued that the authorities needed to take a stronger action against perpetrators, including healthcare workers and the families of victims. “If you imprison a parent… and publicize it, then, people will fear it.” However, other campaigners caution that a crackdown could further drive the practice underground. Instead, organizations have chosen to focus on raising awareness and persuading families to opt for alternative rites of passage, combining celebratory coming-of-age ceremonies with traditional teachings.

At a recent event organized by Kenyan non-profit Manga HEART in Kisii, approximately 100 girls – dressed in kitenge skirts and aged between seven and 11 years old – sang songs and recited rhymes, urging their parents to “save me from FGM”. As the children received “certificates of achievement”, their beaming relatives cheered and ululated – the ceremony reflecting a growing determination to end the harmful practice. Some of the grandmothers and mothers celebrating that day knew the stakes all too well. “I lost a lot of blood during FGM… but I couldn’t prevent it from happening,” said Elinah, the mother-of-three who nearly died during childbirth. “I’m here today because my daughter will not undergo FGM,” she said. “I don’t believe that my daughters should experience what I went through.”