Government issues warning on FGM

Culture minister says they have combined efforts with Kenyan authorities to ensure the practice is checked.

Anyone found practising Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) will face the law, the government has said. Speaking to journalists at the Media Centre in Kampala yesterday, the Minister of State for Gender and Cultural Affairs, Ms Rukia Nakadama, however, said the challenge is to catch the culprits as many are operating underground.

“They no longer hold celebrations... and they normally do it at night. But we are now working with the local council leaders, police and the communities to ensure that people who still practice the vice face the law,” Ms Nakadama said ahead of today’s celebration to mark the international day against female genital mutilation.

Uganda’s celebratiosn will be held in Moroto District. Female genital cutting is a cultural practice that is common in the east and northeastern among the Pokot, Tapeth and the Sabiny.

Among the communities, girls between age seven and 14 are subjected to the practice deemed a rite of passage into womanhood; short of which they risk exclusion from social functions and decision-making.