Govt vows to protect girl child in Narok from FGM and Early Marriages

Anti-FGM Crusaders in Narok County. The government has reiterated its commitment to protect girls from Female Genital Mutilation, FGM in Narok County.

The government has reiterated its vows to protect the girl child from Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and early marriages, Narok County Commissioner Kipkech Lotiatia has said.

In a recent press briefing in his office, Lotiatia stated that FGM is illegal and that he will not accept it to be carried out in the region, since it affects the education standards in the region.

“FGM hurts education and the victims mostly drop out of school to get married or get pregnant. This is why we want to fight this outdated practice. The people still practising the vice should be arrested and prosecuted,” he said.

Some interventions proposed to keep children in school include the introduction of school feeding programmes in all public primary schools, low-cost boarding schools, providing sanitary pads and empowering women.

Narok North MP Agnes Pareiyo urged administrative units to be at the forefront of arresting and prosecuting offenders, adding that the success of rooting out FGM in the County will highly depend on the goodwill of the local community in partnership with the relevant authorities, a position that was reiterated by Anti-FGM Board CEO Bernadette Loloju.

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“Most of these people do not have information and it is the responsibility of chiefs to hold public sensitization programmes at the grassroots that will help them understand the state opposes this retrogressive practice,” said Loluju.

According to data from the United Nations, one in five women and girls aged between 15 and 49 in Kenya have undergone FGM. FGM causes serious health and childbirth problems, including death.

Kenya outlawed FGM in 2011, imposing stringent penalties on perpetrators notably those who aid or abet FGM, possessing tools of the trade and those who fail to report a person carrying out FGM.

The law stipulates a prison sentence at least three years, a fine of Ksh200,000 or both for the crimes, whereas a person who causes the death of a girl through FGM can be sentenced to life imprisonment.

 

By Kimutai Langat

 

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