Ugandan leaders call for review of FGM law and protection of whistleblowers
“Men and various families are now afraid of subjecting women and girls to FGM," says Bukwo district youth MAG chairperson Fred Kissa.
Some of the Pokot women attending a dialogue on Female Genital Mutilation last month in Kongorok Sub County in Amudat district. (Photos by Jeff Andrew Lule)
NewVision Reporter
@NewVision
________________________ Morris Kiplangat, Bukwo district senior community development officer Some of the Pokot women arriving at the a community dialogue on FGM last month in Kongorok sub-county, Amudat district Female genital mutilation is still being practiced in eastern Africa Fredmark Chemonges, Police spokesperson for Sipi region
The cultural practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) persists in a variety of ways despite the existence of the FGM law and additional interventions from other partners.
This has been blamed on the flaws within the FGM statute.
In Uganda, some local leaders in the Sebei and Karamoja sub-regions — where it is practised — and civil society organizations opposed to FGM, assert that people are hesitating to report because the law does not protect witnesses.
FGM, often known as female circumcision, refers to the partial or total removal of the female external genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs.
The most prevalent areas for FGM in Uganda include the eastern districts of Bukwo, Kween, and Kapchorwa in the Sebei sub-region as well as Amudat district among the Pokot in the northeastern sub-region of Karamoja.
In an interview with New Vision at his office, the senior community development officer of Bukwo district, Morris Kiplangat, reveals that although FGM appears to be a thing of the past, it still occurs, especially in remote localities.
“Because of various gaps in the law, the procedure is being carried out clandestinely and forcefully. People are reluctant to disclose these situations because they are not protected by the law, and fear being attacked by their communities,” he says.
He emphasizes the need for Parliament and other pertinent parties to revise the law so that whistleblowers are protected when they seek authorities to report.
Kiplangat notes that the FGM Act of 2010 considers everyone who witnesses the practice of FGM an accomplice, thus discouraging many from reporting incidents, and from appearing as witnesses in court, impeding the prosecution process.
“That is why many cases fail in court and suspects get back to communities,” says Kiplangat.
Anyone who seeks to carry out, obtain, aid, or abet FGM, or engages in any event leading to FGM is subject to a maximum five-year prison sentence upon conviction, according to Sections 5, 6, and 7 of Uganda's legislation on FGM.
Despite the challenges, Kiplangat notes that with support from the United National Population Fund (UNFPA) and ActionAid International Uganda (AAIU), numerous campaigns to raise awareness of the risks of FGM continue to be carried out through a variety of structures, including; churches, youth, elders, and has seen many like the FGM mentors and cutters denounce the practice.
▪️ 'Law enforcement and collaboration key in ending cross-border FGM'
Christine Cherop, a 74-year-old mother of four from Chebinyiny village in Kaptererwo sub-county, Bukwo district, is one of the reformers who now speaks out against the practice she once cherished.
She claims to have influenced over 100 females to consent to being mutilated in the 24 years of her work.
Before the Ugandan government passed the law outlawing FGM, many people, including Cherop, she claims, just valued the practice as part of their culture until they realized it was violating the rights of the girl child.
Risky
Cherop claims that the cultural practice was also a means of revenue for mentors, cutters (traditional surgeons) and elders.
Mentorship would normally start approximately a month before the FGM period, and she used to get paid roughly sh50,000 for each female she led into the process.
The money aspect, she says, explains why many people still support it even after realizing its risks.
Cherop says quitting the habit has also extended her life to 74 years because she used to be a drunkard, a lifestyle that exposed her to numerous risks.
“During the celebration, we would stay out late drinking and abandon our homes. Some of my colleagues who insisted on continuing the practice passed away,” she recalls.
She notes those still engaged in the practice do it clandestinely, especially in isolated areas, while others cross to Kenya to perform it (cross-border FGM).
According to Fred Kissa, the Bukwo district youth Male Action Group (MAG) chairperson, expenditures for the FGM process range from sh5 million to sh6 million from the time of preparation to the healing phase.
Concealing under male circumcision
Kissa reveals that to escape the law, FGM is now carried out during the male circumcision period.
“They do it within the same period of male circumcision to avoid being noticed. You only find out when it’s already happened and when the perpetrators have crossed into Kenya,” he says.
But he also points to the anti-FGM law, which he says, despite certain gaps, has greatly reduced the number of FGM cases and child marriages.
“Men and various families are now afraid of subjecting women and girls to FGM. Since child marriage is seen as a rite of passage to womanhood, FGM was encouraging it,” he adds.
Kissa says many women who were not mutilated were stigmatized since they would be shunned by even their husbands, in-laws, and other family members.
“Women who had not been cut were not even permitted to attend the circumcision of their sons. Instead, the family of the man would bring over another woman who is cut to accompany him, which compelled many to get mutilated and protect their relationships."
▪️ Ending FGM by 2030 'needs all hands on deck'
Fleeing home
FGM is still pervasive in rural places with little oversight, enforcement, and public awareness, such as those near forests and the Kenyan border.
Kissa explains that the culture in these places has imprinted its people so deeply because they are illiterate and ignorant.
But he stresses that many women and girls now relatively know their rights, because of the ongoing sensitization campaigns.
Those who know their rights occasionally flee their homes for safety if their families or husbands attempt to force them into marriage or FGM.
Judith, 17, and six other girls from Kotiti village in Loborokocha parish, Loroo sub-county fled their homes over the same during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2021. The girls were between the ages of 13 and 15 then.
Their families had planned to force them out of school and into marriage, but some of their relatives assisted them in escaping and found sanctuary at Kalas Girls Primary School, in Amudat Town Council.
The school shelters about 120 girls who fled FGM, child marriage, and other types of violence.
Booking girls
According to sources, most of the girls in Amudat are culturally booked from the age of 11 by various men or families, and as they turn 14 or 15, they are introduced to FGM and married off.
While other girls would be given a bracelet for identification that they are already booked, other parents may negotiate with the would-be in-laws and agree on the number of animals they want without the girls’ knowledge.
Judith, a survivor of child marriage, is one of them. Her parents just woke up one morning and informed her that they had already found a prospective husband for her.
But her elder brother helped her escape the night they were to mutilate her. She had to walk for more than 20 kilometres to reach her uncle’s home in Amudat town.
'Hard to detect'
Alfred Logwe, the district's principal assistant secretary for Amudat district, says in response to the increased number of incidents of GBV against women, a shelter was established early this year with assistance from UNFPA and AAIU.
“This will be sheltering these women who can’t be sheltered at the school and the girls who run away from FGM and child marriage. It will be offering a range of services,” he notes.
To keep an eye on what's going on and take appropriate action, the district also collaborates closely with the youth surveillance teams and the Police Child and Family Protection Unit (PCFPU).
During a dialogue with the youth and local leaders to raise awareness about FGM in Losidok sub-county, Susan Adimo, the head of PCFPU in Amudat district, said despite being outlawed for 13 years now, FGM still takes place covertly.
“It is hard to detect it now because most girls are taken to Kenya by some people and return when they are cut. This makes it difficult to get the perpetrators,” she revealed.
However, she noted that the efforts of 100 young men and women action groups, who were chosen from five FGM hotspot locations in the district and given training on the topic, are having a beneficial impact on their local communities.
Today, according to Adimo, “many parents understand the importance of educating their children; they report incidents, and we see many cutters denouncing the practice".
Her office used to record more than 10 incidents of child marriage each month, but the number has now dropped to about four on average.
Education factor
In all of the FGM hotspot districts, the issue of education is still a pressing one, but it is particularly acute in Amudat, where only three secondary schools are available to serve 11 sub-counties.
They are Pokot Girls Boarding Seed School, Pokot Secondary School, and Loroo Seed Secondary School.
Lonnah Cheptilak, the district female councilor for the two sub-counties of Loroo and Kongorok, claims that the lack of secondary schools exposes young girls because many of them are unable to continue their education.
“Not even a single tertiary institution exists here. Because of this, parents use their daughters as a source of income to buy more animals. Schools are the safest places for girls. The government ought to provide us with more of them,” she says.
The distance from Gongorok to Loroo Seed Secondary School is about 25 kilometers, being the nearest school.
“How do you expect a child to go that far daily? Other children along the border study in Kenyan schools,” continues Cheptilak.
The Uganda Bureau of Statistics figures indicate that over 50% of the population in Amudat is illiterate.
A 62-year-old former cutter surgeon from Kongorok sub-county named Margaret Nakong claims that cutting women is now practiced in bushes, woodlands, and across the border.
One of the reasons she opposed the practice was that she claimed several girls died during the procedure from excessive bleeding.
Cross-border FGM
FGM has turned into a business, according to Samuel Onange, the project officer for the AAIU in the Sebei sub-region.
He says the procedure has been made commercial, according to their FGM community surveillance teams, noting the previous year they were offering sh100,000 to anyone who was able to take a girl across the border to Kenya for FGM.
He claims that political leaders are also downplaying the effort, stating that they avoid conversations about FGM, out of possible electoral fear.
Onange observes that due to the permeable boundaries, the practice is high in Bukwo, but has significantly reduced in Kapchorwa and Kween districts.
He says cross-border FGM remains a huge concern, claiming that girls are now transported to the Pokot region in Kenya, where FGM is conducted.
“While the law is being strengthened in Uganda, it is still lax in Kenya. But together with local leaders, we are trying to engage our Kenyan counterparts,” he adds.
Fear to report
According to Fredmark Chesang, Police spokesman for Sipi Region, cases of FGM are frequent in Sebei but are carried out clandestinely and people are also afraid to report, making it difficult for Police to get information.
He claims that pursuing charges against someone after an arrest is still difficult.
“The court always requires substantial evidence to prosecute suspects, which is a bit difficult. On arrest, we need the exhibit, which is the flesh of the genital part of the woman, which is very difficult to find at the scene of crime,” says Chesang.
Although the victim gets examined medically, he points out that this is not enough to prosecute the defendant.
He emphasizes that numerous cases fail along the road and suspects are released for a variety of reasons.
Also related this story
Law enforcement, collaborations key in ending cross-border FGM
Ending FGM by 2030 'needs all hands on deck'