Litigating Female Circumcision In Kenya

The creation and training of monitors was a new idea by CHRD. We began recruiting 15 women in early March 2002.

During the training, we concentrated on imparting the monitors with the basic knowledge of female circumcision. Our emphasis was on the dangers and negative effects of FGM, the laws especially the provisions of the then newly enacted Children Act, which deals with the issue and other government directive against FGM.

We also equipped them with monitoring skills notably how to investigate a given case of FGM without raising suspicion, how to write a report on the findings of the research and how to start debates on FGM in social places.

In addition to training monitors, we also did advocacy work throughout the region in

• Primary Schools: 10 schools participated in total. Targets were girls from Standard 6-8. This is the age group that is most vulnerable to FGM. Letters of inquiry or a person goes to the school to talk to the administration for permission to organize the workshop and for the school to permit the target groups to attend.
• Community: Such communities also held a number of community workshops on request.
• In order to promote advocacy on the dangers of FGM in the two districts, CHRD developed a pamphlet. 5000 copies were developed and distributed by monitors in the workshop.
• Our advocacy campaigns also targeted police and provincial administration where copies of the pamphlets were distributed to empower the state agents with knowledge on the matter as a way of drawing them into the battle against the practice.
• We also used the media to highlight cases and expose the practice, which has worked to arouse debate and the airing of opinions by various sectors of the practicing communities and has prodded government officers to be drawn into the arena.

As a result of training and deploying of anti-FGM monitors, CHRD was able to protect 16 girls from Marakwet district in April and May 2002. The girls had been empowered by the monitors in the area. They were among a group of girls who had earlier in the previous year undergone the alternative rite of passage organized by World Vision International in Tot division.

Complete project report summary is available in document below.

Links:

• Project Summary 2003