{"id":48547,"date":"2023-07-25T15:03:45","date_gmt":"2023-07-25T15:03:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/why-female-genital-mutilation-is-a-major-health-concern\/"},"modified":"2023-07-28T08:53:27","modified_gmt":"2023-07-28T08:53:27","slug":"why-female-genital-mutilation-is-a-major-health-concern","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/why-female-genital-mutilation-is-a-major-health-concern\/","title":{"rendered":"Why female genital mutilation is a major health concern"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the horn of Africa, female genital mutilation (FGM) is among the cultural practices done in regards to the \u2018high moral value\u2019 tied to virginity and sex despite being declared a criminal act in; September 1985 under \u2018the prohibition of Female Circumcision Act 1985\u201d.<\/p>\n

It was replaced by \u2018the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003\u2019 which came into force in 2004 and further amended by the \u2018Serious Crime Act 2015\u2019.<\/p>\n

During the recently concluded Women Deliver Conference 2023 held in Kigali, Rwanda; women\u2019s organizations, mostly female activists across Africa, under their umbrella \u2018Frontline ending FGM\u2019 gathered in solidarity in one space to find solutions to the ongoing practice as part of the UN mandate to end FGM by 2030.<\/p>\n

IGIHE spoke to Sess, an activist from Kenya at the \u2018Frontline ending FGM\u2019 booth during the conference to explain what their work entails.<\/p>\n

“Basically, what we do is sensitize the community about the harmful cultural practices because they have been medically proven to be very detrimental. We have girls and women going through difficult economic times as a result of the various medical conditions they experience,” she said.<\/p>\n

As a gynecologist specializing in the management of ‘prolapse and incontinence’, conditions that can be linked to FGM, Dr. Willison emphasizes that FGM survivors may encounter challenges such as intimacy pain and menopausal issues as they age. These long-term complications could significantly impact their quality of life and, in severe cases, may even lead to death.<\/p>\n

According to Sess, the communities that cut in Kenya include; Somali\u2019s, Kiisi, Masai, Kuria, Kalenjin, Taita and Taveta, Meru, and immigrants among others. She added that these communities have different reasons for performing the act, all which rotate around; society, culture and religion.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Somali\u2019s tie it to the religion bit, in communities where I work they tie it to culture. To them, it\u2019s a social norm and they want to continue doing it because they want to appease their leaders,\u201d she mentioned.<\/p>\n

Considered a transition of \u2018girls into womanhood\u2019 in practicing communities, FGM not only varies in beliefs but also the way it is done, said Sess.<\/p>\n

She told IGIHE that there are various types of FGM: Type 1 (clitoridectomy) where they either cut the entire part\/partial removal of the clitoris, Type 2 (excision) where they cut the clitoris in half and Type 3(infibulation) or type 3 genitalia, very common among the Somali\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere, they scoop everything out and sew it together leaving the girl\/woman with a very small part to ease herself and for menstruation\u2019, it is a very crazy practice,\u201d she exclaimed.<\/p>\n

Despite their efforts, Sess acknowledged that there are challenges hindering their work from resistant movements that are against the practice. However, she says that they won\u2019t back down as it is against human rights.<\/p>\n

Funded by \u2018Global Leader campaign\u2019, the Frontline movement supports activists (people on ground) to create awareness on harmful cultural practices.<\/p>\n

They use local media and social media where they bring medical professionals, law enforcers, reformed cutters, elders, community members, and all stakeholders to give their different context and perspective on the practice and how it can be stopped.<\/p>\n

FGM was legally recognized in Kenya in 1999 by the Ministry of Health under the National Plan of Action for the Elimination of FGM\/FGC.<\/p>\n

Globally, FGM was declared a criminal act in September 1985 under \u2018the prohibition of Female Circumcision Act 1985\u201d. It was replaced by \u2018the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003\u2019 which came into force in 2004 and further amended by the \u2018Serious Crime Act 2015\u2019.<\/p>\n

\"Delegates<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

{Africa is a continent, home to people speaking different languages with rich cultures and lifestyles. While these cultural variations are fascinating and often celebrated, it is essential to acknowledge that some practices in certain regions have come under scrutiny for violating human rights in today’s modern world.}<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":2000058384,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[72,75],"byline":[3104],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-48547","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","tag-featured-news-home","tag-homenews","byline-jane-babirye"],"bylines":[{"id":3104,"name":"Jane Babirye","slug":"jane-babirye","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":null}],"contributors":[{"id":3104,"name":"Jane Babirye","slug":"jane-babirye","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":null}],"featured_image":{"id":2000058384,"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/23973.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":0,"height":0,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/23973.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/23973.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/23973.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/23973.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/23973.jpg","width":0,"height":0}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48547","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/62"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48547"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48547\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000058384"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48547"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48547"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48547"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=48547"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=48547"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}