Migori — Gender and Affirmative Action Principal Secretary Anne Wang'ombe says the government will continue to fight against retrogression vices in society.
According to Wang'ombe, the fight against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and Gender Based Violence (GBV) should be fought to make society a free entity against aggression.
Wang'ombe who spoke on during an FGM and GBV forum that brought various Community Based Organisation (CBOs) and World Vision at Tagare grounds -Mabera Sub County said that government has been encouraging communities to stop retrogressive vices.
She noted that nothing can be achieved through violence and ungodly cultures and traditions whose time has passed, highlighting that the world has evolved and no one should be left behind simply because they are hanging on retrogressive cultures that keep infringing on the rights of Kenyan children.
The PS said that the State Department of Gender and Affirmative Action will continue to partner with developmental partners like World Vision to address issues of FGM and GBV to safeguard the rights and freedom of girls and women.
On the issue of cross-border FGM, Wang'ombe said that the East African community has been at the forefront of addressing the matter to safeguard the safety and rights of women across the region.
She however said that there was a need for more advanced advocacy, community sensitisation and interventions to enlighten the community that is still practising FGM.
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Principal Secretary for Social Protection and Senior Citizen Joseph Motari said that it was important to create touchable interventions that can propagate the negative effects of retrogressive cultures like FGM, early marriage and GBV.
Motari affirmed that through social economic interventions from both the two levels of government and developmental partners, the Kuria community can be empowered to generate wealth and embrace positive cultures for the sake of future generations.
However, the National Director of World Vision Kenya Gilbert Kamanga stressed that they will continue to create workable and touchable interventions to curb the three effects of; FGM, Early marriages and Teenage pregnancies that have a direct effect on the life of a child, especially the girl.
He noted that through the World Vision Programme dubbed "Kenya Big Dream" they have laid out economic interventions to empower various communities across the country to eliminate FGM, teenage pregnancy and early marriage.
Meanwhile, Migori Member of Parliament Fatuma Mohammed advised guardians from the Kuria community who are still handing on the outdated FGM menace to understand that what they were doing to their girls was humane, a crime and ungodly.
Fatuma urged the community to embrace acceptable cultures to preserve their heritage and empower the girl child through education for the benefits of community development.
