Female genital cutting must stop

The practice which involves the partial or total excision of the external female genitalia is usually performed by a female elder using a razor, knife, or piece of glass.

On February 6, Uganda joined the rest of the world to mark the international day against Female Genital Mutilation.

FGM, as it’s commonly known, is mostly practiced in the east and north eastern parts of Uganda—specifically among the Pokot, Tapeth and the Sabiny tribes.

While there are no clear statistics of how many girls or women have been circumcised in Uganda, the World Health Organisation estimates that at least 101 million girls who are 10 years old and above have undergone FGM in Africa.

The practice which involves the partial or total excision of the external female genitalia is usually performed by a female elder using a razor, knife, or piece of glass.
Some sections of the communities that practice female genital mutilation defend it as a cultural tradition and a way of ensuring that a woman is clean, chaste, and ready for marriage. Women who are not circumcised are often times associated with promiscuity, lack of social respect and face prejudice in their daily lives. Among the Sabiny community for instance, female mutilation is usually carried out among girls between the ages of 14 and 16 years.

Although widely condemned by health experts, FGM is deemed a rite of passage into womanhood. However over the years, widespread sensitisation has led to fewer people getting engaged in the practice.

There has also been a law that the government put in place in 2010 to stop the practice.
The law, among others, imposes a sentence of 10 years and more to people found engaging in female genital cutting. But this has not necessarily prevented some people from practicing the rite.

The challenge, as many community members noted, is to catch the culprits since many are now operating underground. Reports also show that many people are now crossing into neighbouring Kenya to be circumcised.

These new tactics call for a regional approach to deal with the problem.
Coming up with alternative sources of income for the women who engage in the practice would be one way of luring them away. Also, keeping girls longer in school can help them escape this brutal act.