Female genital mutilation behind the headlines

CHRISTINE NARAMU LEPEDO interviews a SAMBURU WOMAN

The Samburu people are semi-nomadic pastoralists in North-central Kenya, related to but distinct from the Maasai people.

Female Genital Mutilation – sometimes referred to as female circumcision or genital cutting – refers to procedures that intentionally alter or cause injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. In Africa an estimated 101 million girls 10 years old and above have undergone FGM.

What is your own definition of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)?

In Samburu it is ‘Muratare’ which is the initiation of a rite of passage so that you can be accepted and respected as a member of the community.

The practice of FGM began at the time when men from the community began hunting or cattle rustling. Hunting made them look strong and earned them respect from elders and community members. They could stay in the bush for over a year but when they returned they would often find their wives pregnant or with babies. This went on for a long time until one day the elders, together with community members, came up with FGM. This, for them, was a way to reduce women’s their libido so that they would wait until their men came back from the bush.

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