Protecting Girls from Genital Mutilation in Kenya

One of the biggest impacts and successes to date of Tareto Maa has been the campaigns to the wider community, most notably, the one that occurred in August 2015 and again this summer. Last August, the campaigning centred upon the coming together of villagers and community leaders to show how education and the empowerment of young girls and women can have such a dramatic and positive effect on changing attitudes to genital cutting. Most notably Gladys reports how the men’s attitudes are changing and how they are celebrating the girls in their community being able to go to school. Even Gladys’s own Father (who was resistant to any change) is now proud of his daughter’s achievements.

This year, the summer event marked the occasion of children returning for the new term and this was celebrated by overseas visitors and the making of a film (a separate report of this is being written). Some girls had finished school and there were successes within higher education as well. There was a big party and exchanging of gifts for the girls which included books, balls and writing/drawing equipment.

The girls dressed up for this event and this was intended to highlight a specific impact statement. Girls are dressed in their best clothes for when they are circumcised. This dress tradition was observed, at this event, but the difference was this was a ‘rite of Passage’ for educational success, not for FGM and early marriage.

Lydia, one of the girls, graduating spoke about how education changes and empowers women and what this opportunity has meant to her. This was such an emotional and passionate speech that there were tears of rejoicing in the audience.

So a shift in culture has been made with respect to old practices. To date, it has been noted that within a 20-30km radius, no more genital cutting is now occurring but in the wider community, beyond this area, it is still being practiced. On a micro-level Tareto Maa has definitely changed the immediate environment and not just in FGM rates. It is reported that girls who are educated bring back their skills and knowledge to the community, whereas if boys are educated, they often leave the area, so that does not benefit the community as a whole. The wider aim of Tareto Maa is to take their message and their model further afield in the future.