By IPS Correspondents
NAROK, Kenya, Sep 24 2004 (IPS)

Judy Santeyan and her sister Dorcas Keiwua have been badly mutilated, after being forced by eight persons to undergo unsafe traditional circumcision in Kenya.

Santeyan, 16, and Keiwua, 14, both traumatised, cry whenever they are reminded of the harrowing experience they had at the hands of their butchers Aug. 30.

The two sisters are recuperating at Tasaru Girls Rescue Centre in Narok, about 150 kilometres from Nairobi, in the Rift Valley Province. The centre, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), is currently looking after three girls, including the two sisters, who have fled female genital mutilation (FGM).

During school holidays, when cutters prey on their victims, at the peak of FGM activities, the centre accommodates over 40 girls, according to the management.

When IPS visited the two girls Sep. 23, Santeyan was in pain and could hardly sit, as a result of the wound beneath her which doctors described as severe. The damage would need to be corrected through an operation scheduled to be performed at a later stage.

Santeyan, visibly disturbed, stared in the air, sobbed, and took a deep breath before speaking to IPS. “It happened after our mother had left the previous night to attend overnight prayers. She left us with our 18-year-old brother. As we were sleeping, he came, woke us up and said ‘Today is the day, you have to be circumcised. And I do not want anyone to make any noise’,” she recalled.

Four years ago, their brother had threatened them with circumcision, and they fled to the rescue centre. After staying at the centre for two years, an agreement was reached for the girls to return home.

But their brother – their father died in 1998 – never kept his side of the bargain. “On Aug. 30, as our brother woke us up, I told him that my sister and I were not going to be circumcised. He slapped me. As I walked into the sitting room, I was shocked to find five elderly women and three boys, who were my brother’s age-mates, seated. All the eight are our neighbours.”

“The women tied me with ropes, assisted by the boys, to ensure that I could not move. I attempted to resist and they slapped me. They then cut me ruthlessly as my plea for them to stop fell on deaf ears. After they were done, they took me to the bed, where I lay in a pool of blood,” Santeyan narrated, reaching for a handkerchief to wipe her eyes.

The attackers then grabbed Keiwua. “After I had seen how Santeyan had been beaten, I had no choice but to cooperate. They, including our brother, put me to bed and left as we lay there in pain. Our mother found us almost dying from bleeding and took us to hospital, and reported to the authorities,” Keiwua said.

The girls were cut with unsterilised crude instruments in a country where two million people are living with HIV/AIDS, according to the Ministry of Health.

Agnes Pareyio, founder of Tasaru Rescue Centre, says only two women have been arrested and released on a bond of about 640 dollars. “They took their land title deeds and bought back their freedom, as the girls continue to battle with their lives,” she told IPS.

The rest of the suspects are still on the run. “The centre and other women grass-root organisations are following up the matter, calling for the arrest of the other perpetrators. We want justice,” Pareiyo said.

The incident occurred ahead of an international conference on FGM held in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi Sep. 16-18 to discuss ratification and implementation of the Maputo Protocol that seeks to outlaw FGM across Africa.

An African Union (AU) Heads of State summit held in Mozambique’s capital, Maputo July 2003, adopted the ‘African Charter on the Rights of Women in Africa’ protocol; article five of this document prohibits and condemns FGM.

For the protocol to come into force, it must be ratified by at least 15 countries of the 53-member AU. But one year after adoption, only three countries – Libya, Rwanda and Comoros – have ratified the document.

The Nairobi conference, which brought together about 700 participants from around the world, resolved to lobby African governments to ratify the Maputo protocol, to add impetus to the fight against FGM in Africa.

Kenya’s legislation outlaws FGM but it’s not being enforced.

The anti-FGM law in Kenya is contained in ‘The Children Act 2001’, which prohibits circumcision of girls under the age of 18, and includes prison terms and penalties for violation of the law.

“The current law is flawed because it provides for FGM to be performed on someone over 18 years. This is why women will continue to be cut in marriage, if they were not already cut when they were young. We need a law that bans FGM altogether,” said Agnes Yiapan, Narok coordinator of Maendeleo Ya Wanawake (Women in Development), an organisation that addresses women’s issues.

Women’s groups also want government to put in place mechanisms to monitor implementation of the anti-FGM law.

“If the government is serious about protecting Kenyan women and girls, let it deploy officers on the ground to check if there’s anyone flouting the rule. If such a measure was in place, Santeyan and Dorcas’s case would not have arisen,” Yiapan argued.

FGM, which is considered a rite of passage for girls into womanhood, involves the removal of all or part of the clitoris – and all or part of the vagina lips. This is followed by stitching the two sides of the vulva with threads, sometimes using crude instruments like thorns, leaving a tiny hole for the passage of urine and menstrual blood.

Poverty also spurs the FGM practice, experts say.

“Most of the circumcisers want to cut as many girls a month as possible to earn a living. For example, in Narok and neighbouring areas, the cutters are paid 1,000 shillings (almost 13 dollars) per girl cut. If she does 20, that is 20,000 shillings (about 256 dollars), a relatively fair amount,” Pareiyo said.

Some 56 percent of Kenyans live below the poverty line of a dollar a day, according to the Ministry of National Planning.

To combat the practice, Pareiyo’s centre has embarked on a pilot project to provide capital to the circumcisers to start other businesses. It’s bearing fruit. “Since the beginning of the project a few months ago, some five circumcisers have laid down their tools,” she said.

Kenya has an FGM prevalence rate of 38 percent, according to Linah Kilimo, minister of state for home affairs. This is much higher than that of neighbouring Uganda, where the prevalence rate is four percent.

Excerpt: