Men accused of fueling FGM in Sebei region

Increasing acts of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) have been attributed to men who claim uncircumcised women are not good marriage materials.

"They have coaxed many girls including those in marriage to seek for circumcision to avoid being branded as inferior women. They have done this through convincing these women to believe that uncircumcised women cannot make good love, "explained Annet Chemutai, the managing director She's Rafiki Development Service. This was during the annual General meeting of the organisation at Chimney Restaurant in Kampala.

She's Rafiki Development Service is a community based organisation which is advocating for the elimination of the acts of female genital mutilation in Sebei region.

Chemutai said, many of the girls being circumcised these days consent to the act and as they cheer them, they feel proud and feel fitting to the society, yet they don't know the dangers.

"They escort and prepare you and in the evening they call you winning names and promising to marry you as a strong woman, "she said.

Juliet Chepoyeyin, one of the directors said Kween has now become an epicenter for the acts of FGM.

She attributed this to ignorance, noting that it is one of the reasons why Kween is always the worst performing district in Sebei region and out of the country at large.

Chepoyeyin said that men have continued to support the acts because they were left out of all the interventions geared at ending the practice.

She believes that once all stake holders are brought on board to fully define FGM and diagnose it, it would be easy to fight it.

Milton Yona, one of the male members of She's Rafiki Development Service, said one of the solutions to the problem of FGM is to directly involve the people of Sebei in all the intervention so that the elimination process is owned by them.

He observed the need for Sabins to lead the campaign that will introduce other things to be treasured as culture like the riddles, food, dressing code, traditional dance and harvesting techniques.

The group called for intensified sensitisation of girl child education because an educated girl cannot allow to be circumcised.