Kisii — Kisii Woman Representative Dorice Aburi has called for a united front to end Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in the region, urging communities to prioritize the sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) of girls and women.
Aburi raised concern over the emerging trend of medicalised FGM, saying it is enabling the harmful practice to persist under the guise of "safety." She noted that some medical practitioners are succumbing to community pressure--particularly within the Kisii community--where FGM remains deeply entrenched.
The Kisii community, located in southwestern Kenya and home to nearly three million people, has historically recorded an FGM prevalence of more than 80 percent according to government data. The practice, traditionally viewed as a rite of passage, has increasingly been modernized and performed by trained medical personnel, often during school holidays.
Despite the shift to medicalisation, FGM continues to violate girls' and women's bodily autonomy, with many lacking the right and freedom to make informed choices about their SRHR. The procedure causes severe physical and psychological harm, including infections, childbirth complications, trauma, and long-term reproductive health challenges.
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In an interview, Woman Representative Dorice Aburi reaffirmed her commitment to empowering girls and women to reject FGM and embrace SRHR awareness.
"I am committed to providing necessary information on SRHR and the consequences of FGM to our people, and help young girls make informed choices about their bodies and health," she said.
Aburi said she has partnered with schools by donating sanitary towels and water tanks, while rolling out education programs designed to empower girls to break free from harmful cultural practices and promote reproductive rights.
However, she noted that the medicalisation of FGM has become the biggest obstacle for stakeholders--including community-based organizations, individuals, and government agencies--working to eradicate the practice. Communities and practitioners often defend the medical version of FGM as a "safe" way to preserve tradition, despite its continued risks to physical, psychological, and sexual health.
"I call upon religious leaders, administrators, and activists to engage the community in dialogue on the harmful effects of FGM and why they need to focus on SRHR," she urged.
Aburi further called for the continued enforcement of anti-FGM laws and policies, emphasizing that ending the practice is critical to protecting women's rights.
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According to a 2021 UNICEF report, medicalised FGM is on the rise in Egypt, Sudan, Guinea, and Kenya. Nationally, the 2022 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) indicates that FGM prevalence stands at 15 percent among women aged 15 to 49.
Globally, FGM--recognized as a human rights violation--has been performed on at least 200 million girls and women across 31 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, the Arab states, and select Asian nations.
In Kenya, an estimated 4 million girls and women have undergone FGM, with 21 percent of those aged 15-49 affected. A 2014 UNICEF report ranked the Kisii community as the third-highest in FGM prevalence at 84 percent, following the Somali (94 percent) and Samburu (86 percent) communities.
