FGM cases drop 60pc as season nears
What you need to know:
Serengeti District Commissioner Nurdin Babu told this paper at the weekend that the drop in FGM rate had been attributed by a campaign against FGM, which was being implemented by the government in collaboration with other stakeholders, including Amref Health Africa.
Serengeti. As the initiation ritual season in Mara Region nears, where girls are subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM), Serengeti District experiences a drop by 60 per cent of FGM girls last year. A total of 14,122 girls were genitally mutilated in 2014 and 5,000 in 2016.
Serengeti District Commissioner Nurdin Babu told this paper at the weekend that the drop in FGM rate had been attributed by a campaign against FGM, which was being implemented by the government in collaboration with other stakeholders, including Amref Health Africa.
He said many traditional elders, who backed FGM in the community had stopped the practice. “Many traditional elders have signed an agreement with my office that they refrain from the illegal practice and they have joined the campaign against FGM,” he said. He noted that traditional elders of the Kuria community had been holding meetings during the ongoing campaign against FGM and expressed a possible end of the heinous ritual in the district.
One of the elders from Remung’orori Village, Mr Chacha Mang’are said he was now focused on development activities such as taking his daughters to school. “Most of us elders are now supporting the government to ending FGM.”
