Tana River County Commissioner Omar Beja has directed local Deputy County Commissioners, Assistant County Commissioners, Chiefs and Assistant chiefs to wage war against Female Genital Mutilation(FGM) in their areas of operation.
Beja said the administrators should take the vice head on, when conducting public barazas saying the prevalence rate of FGM in Tana River County currently stands at an alarming 94%.
Addressing FGM stakeholders meeting at Hola County Commissioner’s boardroom Tuesday, the County Commissioner said FGM was undermining girl child education in the area.
He said FGM has contributed to cases of early marriages, hence cautioned old men who marry school girls that they will be arrested and charged accordingly, if found culpable.
Speaking at the same function, an anti- FGM activist Sadia Hussein, who leads the campaign against the practice said this cultural practice should be discouraged because it amounts to violence against young girls.
Hussein called on NGOs, CBOs and other stakeholders in the war against FGM to cooperate with the National government in reducing such cases in the County.
The activist said that local communities believe that FGM practice was Islamic, but that’s not true because it’s harmful to young girls.
The County Gender officer Aggrey Nyangweso said his office has recorded about 200 female circumcisers in the County, whereby majority of them are aged 60 years and above.
By Simon Guruba
