The 57th edition of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Festival was yesterday celebrated in Nakuru County with a call to end harmful cultural practices that undermine children’s rights.
Leaders, among them the Nabongo Mumia King Peter Mumia II and Nakuru Town West Deputy County Commissioner Mr Ali Omar said female genital mutilation (FGM) and early marriages were some of the cultural practices that were seriously hampering the empowerment of the girl child.
King Mumia II noted that FGM contributes greatly to teenage pregnancies and early marriages because after undergoing the retrogressive cultural practice, girls are deemed ready for marriage even if they are still in school.
Speaking at Mubarak Mosque in Nakuru where he was the chief guest, King Mumia II however urged parents to preserve positive traditions that guide their children to the right morals for the good of the community.
He expressed regret that consumption of illicit brews and drug abuse was a serious problem in the country, especially among the youth. He said such anniversaries should be used to sensitize the youth on the repercussions of drug abuse and illicit brews.
King Mumia II stressed the need to end outdated cultural practices, drug abuse and consumption of illicit brew adding that he, in conjunction with elders, were supporting the government in the fight against female genital mutilation, early marriages, drug abuse and consumption of illicit liquor to curb increasing crimes.
“We want to hold onto a positive culture and do away with the bad ones that do not add value to our people. Political activist Marcus Garvey once said that a people without the knowledge of their history, origin or culture are like a tree without roots,” affirmed the King.
He advised the young men to watch out against being lured into drugs and criminal activities that can easily land them in jail.
He instead called on the young men to engage in creative adventures like farming, livestock rearing and small businesses that can earn them money.
“We should embrace education and ensure our children attain education to be relevant in the modern world. Both girls and boys should go to school as the government has offered a free primary education programme,” he said.
He encouraged the young men to be in the front line in shunning Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) as a measure to end the retrogressive practice in the county.
“The government has already declared war against consumption of illicit brews, early marriages and FGM. I want the community to help end the practice by ensuring no young girl is cut,” he said.
He also discouraged the young men from marrying girls who have undergone FGM saying the practice was outdated.
“Earlier on FGM was embraced in some of our Kenyan cultures, but the practice is slowly fading because it has been discovered it doesn’t add any value to the girl-child,” said King Mumia II.
Deputy County Commissioner Mr Omar urged Muslim women to embrace lifelong education, discipline and hard work to secure a bright future in life.
The administrator said with formal education the women would be able to achieve their legitimate dreams in life.
He said education is part of the foundation of all progress and growth both as an individual and as a society.
Mr Omar asked parents to take their children to school as per the 100 per cent transition policy of the national government.
He advised youths to acquire skills in the technical colleges across Nakuru and the country at large for purposes of employability and also self-employment.
Mr Omar said the government will continue to push for 100 per cent transition of pupils to secondary schools to ensure that every child gets the full benefits of secondary education.
The administrator said the government was making secondary education more widely accessible, noting that education was the primary means of achieving sustainable socio-economic development.
“The right to education is in our constitution and so the push for 100 per cent transition will ensure that children regardless of their social background will have access to 12 years of learning,” said Mr Omar.
He said the government is out to provide the necessary infrastructure that would help learners acquire basic education and asked parents to make sure that their children attended schools.
By Jane Ngugi and Dennis Rasto
