Amudat District, Uganda — Aleper Consolata is a 35-year-old parasocial worker from Katileria Village, Loroo parish and a passionate advocate for the rights of girls.
"I rarely sleep because of worrying about my fellow Pokot girls facing a knife as a rite of passage." - Aleper Consolata, Parasocial Worker
The remote region of Uganda where Ms. Consolata lives is heavily influenced by Pokot culture. Harmful practices such as female genital mutilation (FGM) and child marriage remain deeply entrenched. Yet, Ms. Consolata is resolute in her mission to educate her community on the dangers of harmful practices - a result of her own traumatic experience witnessing her sister's ordeal.
When Ms. Consolata's sister was just 13, she was subjected to FGM and forced into marriage. Tragically, complications caused by her young age and FGM led to difficulties during childbirth and her sister lost the baby.
The memory still haunts Ms. Consolata.
"I rarely sleep because of worrying about my fellow Pokot girls facing a knife as a rite of passage to womanhood," she explains.
Today, Ms. Consolata works tirelessly with Community Development Officers (CDOs), police and community members to protect vulnerable girls from these practices. Through her work, Ms. Consolata has prevented 32 girls from undergoing FGM and child marriage.
Supporting survivors of FGM
Despite Ms. Consolata's commitment, many challenges remain.
In one particularly distressing case last year, Ms. Consolata supported a senior three girl, Cheruto*, who was mutilated after succumbing to peer pressure. Even though her parents were committed to supporting her education, Cheruto ran away from home and sought out a known FGM practitioner in the community.
"Cheruto's brother reached out to me on the phone and informed me about his missing sister. I immediately contacted parasocial workers from neighboring villages," Ms. Consolata recalls.
Together, they tracked down the girl, who had already been mutilated. With the help of the police and local authorities, the perpetrator was arrested and Cheruto received medical attention and psychosocial support.
"While the mutilator faces legal consequences, we were able to provide Cheruto with much-needed medical and psychological support," says Ms. Consolata.
From heartbreak to hope
In Amudat district, particularly within the Pokot culture, girls are often subjected to FGM as a rite of passage into womanhood, which is also seen as a prerequisite for marriage. These harmful practices rob girls of their childhood and disrupt their education, forcing them into early marriages.
"In my Pokot community, girls are still viewed as a source of bride wealth," Ms. Consolata explains.
"I'm proud to be playing a role in sensitizing and educating my community to abandon harmful practices that jeopardize and destroy the future of our young girls... It is heartbreaking to see so many girls face these dangers, but I remain hopeful that through education, we can change the narrative."
According to the Uganda Demographic and Health Survey (UDHS) 2022, about 50 per cent of women aged 15-49 have heard of female circumcision and only 0.2 per cent of women have undergone FGM. In the Karamoja region, which includes Amudat district, the prevalence of FGM is the highest in Uganda at 2.2 per cent, with an awareness level of 47.3 per cent. This data highlights the significant challenge the region faces in addressing these harmful cultural practices and underscores the urgent need for intervention.
Changing the narrative
Spotlight Initiative through UNICEF is working to end FGM and early child marriage in the district. This includes capacity-building for parasocial workers, improved case management and coordination, and life skills training. Spotlight Initiative also supports community-to-community dialogues on harmful practices with boys and girls, adolescents, and cultural and religious leaders.
"I'm proud to be playing a role in sensitizing and educating my community to abandon harmful practices that jeopardize and destroy the future of our young girls." - Ms. Consolata
Through the Joint Programme to End FGM, former FGM practitioners who were arrested under the Anti-FGM Act have been reintegrated into the community as change agents, helping to shift the mindset of local populations. The provision of bicycles to parasocial workers has been instrumental in enabling them to reach more remote communities.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
Girls escaping child marriage and FGM have also been supported with life skills education to help them overcome challenges. As a result of these collective efforts, significant progress has been made. Kalas Girls and Kataikit Primary Schools now accommodate 198 girls who have fled the risk of FGM and early marriage. The seventh cohort of around 25 girls from Kalas Primary School successfully completed their Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) in 2024. This marks a milestone in effort to eradicate FGM in the region.
Looking to the future
While progress has been made, Ms. Consolata believes that further action is needed. "We need to strengthen the enforcement of the law by law enforcement officers and continue our social mobilization efforts," she states.
"It is also crucial to continue empowering parasocial workers to keep reaching out to communities and providing support to girls in need. The work is far from over, but I remain optimistic that we will eventually eradicate FGM and early child marriage in our community."
*Survivor's name has been changed to protect privacy.
