By
Mwangi Wilson Murimi
Two news features aired on NTV and KTN about the
young girls beading culture among the Samburu were shocking. They unearthed the
distressing plight of the girl child, especially in the largely unlettered
pastoralist communities.
The fact that humiliation, mistreatment and
castigation of the girl child continues in the country in this century is a clear
justification that marginalization of pastoral communities must cease and such
communities must be given equal access to not only formal education but also
national protection from harmful cultures.
It is disquieting to come to terms with the agony that
the Samburu girls undergo due to the community’s adherence to the antiquated culture
of morans beading young girls to later on subject them to sexual torture.
It’s very disheartening that, girls as young as 9
years old are subjected to sexual torture by Samburu Morans with the full
knowledge of the rest of the community. In fact, under the Samburu culture the
mother of a beaded girl build her a hut where Moran comes to have unprotected
with the girl. Even more worrisome, the same girls are treated as outcasts when
they conceive under the hands of the morans.
The morans are at liberty to immediately dump the
pregnant girls leaving them at the mercy of fate since the community is not
willing to accept any girl who becomes a mother before undergoing the horrific Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)!
Local quacks
then find an easy extortion cartel by conducting crude abortions that are not
only painful but which also put the lives of the young girl at risk.
And in complete disregard of the importance of life,
girls who by any chance give birth undergoing the mandatory FGM are forced to
discard their babies into the bush to be feasted on by wild animals.
Ironically, the two features came on the very day
when the rest of the country was celebrating the county’s heroes and heroines. It
beats logic for the country to celebrate economic and political gains made
through self rule after the liberation of the nation when some of our ethnic
communities continue practicing harmful practices such as the beading among the
Samburu, forced abortions and genital female mutilation!
The government must institute development of
marginalized pastoral areas to ward off these disgusting practices that have
continued to drag us behind in attaining vision 2030 and the millennium
development goals.
Emphasis must be made in funding the education of
members of the pastoral communities. Non governmental organizations (NGOs) and
human right groups must also cease to be extortion cartels for international
funds. They must be on the forefront in pushing for the development of such
communities since they are also entitle to formal education and protection from
harmful practices.
(The writer
is a fourth year media student at Maseno University. wilsonmurimi@yahoo.com)
Its sadder that in trying to embrace the West we demonise our culture. FGM is not as horrific as portrayed depending on the extent. Which is a lesser evil, FGM or Emerging gay rights?
ReplyDeleteFgm cannot be justified and there is absolutely no comparison to gay rights! FGM is cruel & evil
DeleteBUTCHERS OF WOMANHOOD -FGM PROSTITUTION ON WOMANHOOD BY PARENTS (COVENANT OF THE FLESH).
ReplyDeleteWhen God told Abraham to sign the covenant of the flesh, he circumcised all the male children and he was
circumcised. The message was direct and in plain language. GENESIS 17: 1-27. The
agreement was strategically initiated and the male child grew beholding
daily his agreement with God at every call of nature throughout his married life.. The covenant of the flesh for a man is with ease to behold with no ill feelings or regrets without medication required afterwards in life.
When God told Moses that the Children of Israel shall not circumcise their girls, the message was given in a spiritual language and bore two warnings. The Israelis parents shall not sexually mutilate their daughters and fathers were
commanded not have carnal knowledge (incest) of their daughters making them
prostitutes. Fgm is a satanic sacrifice for a woman, of secrecy with miseries and constrains of disgrace to behold accompanied by many cases of traumatic child delivery requiring medication. There is no fold of a fore skin in sexual organ of a woman to cut round that hides dirty stuffs that stinks. There is no part of her sexual organ that rots as she grows old from childhood. There are blunt lies of those women anointed by satan to propagate fgm when they claim women that are not cut stinks. They have given fgm a satanic religious face value with wholesome none existent cleanses which is mockery to Word of truth. Today fgm advocates feel their marriages are under attack and endangered with the unfolding truth on falsified physical and spiritual beneficial issues acclaimed in fgm. All they have is to tell epic of lies to keep their husbands mentally caged and remain relevant to their husbands. The devil has his own even among the smart elites in every society that will justify evils under all costs. Fgm is a demonic act associated with existent of parenthood and the devil who has given it a religious backing. Homes ,cities and countries where fgm is not practiced would have been stinking hell if their claim is true which would have been un open truth for all. The devil is the fathers of lies and his accomplished the same. There are women who have undergone fgm and they hold and tell the bear truth on issues based on fgm. May God Almighty shower them with blessings of fortitude of grace to forbear the lose done in fgm.
Girls who face the evil cut become prostitutes on alter of satan sadly without their consent