The Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is the leading cause of early marriages and drop out of girls from schools in nomadic communities in the Country.
The Galole Member of Parliament (MP), Hiribae Said Buya said girls are considered to be adults and ready for marriage after undergoing the rite, and called on all leaders to join hands and stop FGM in Tana River County because it is against the law and outdated.
“We need to work together and fight down this Female Genital Mutilation epidemic in our county. Our girls are being treated like animals or tools to satisfy men’s desires, they have rights!”, lamented Buya.
Addressing a gathering at Majengo village in Kinakomba location on Monday, the MP said apart from early marriages and dropping out of schools, women who have undergone this outlawed ritual experiences many difficulties when giving birth.
“Most of the victims have to undergo Cesarean surgery during delivery. They cannot deliver normally, because their genitals have been messed up with during the ritual. Why should we put our ladies to this kind of hardship and mistreatments,” the MP said.
He also said starting from next year, he will be paying school fees to all secondary students hence, urging parents to take this opportunity to keep their girls in school and not give them in marriages.
“I am working on an initiative to promote education in our constituency, where I will be paying 100 per cent of the secondary school fees as from next year. Please parents use this opportunity to change our girls’ lives for better. Let’s keep our girls in schools and not marriages,” he said.
By Felix Mulu/Simon Guruba
