In Kenya, FGM continues to be practised, despite a commitment made by former President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2019, where he said the practice will be eradicated by December 2022.

The Kenya Demographic and Health Survey of 2022 showed that FGM prevalence in the country is at 15%. This was a decline from the 38% registered in 1998.

The survey showed that FGM is more common in rural areas, where 18.4% of women have been circumcised, whereas 9.7% of those in urban have undergone the cut.

This prevalence was also found to be increasing with age, where 9% of women aged 15–19 said they have been circumcised, compared with 23% of those aged 45–49.

Established in December 2013, after the enactment of the Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act, 2011, the Anti-FGM board in Kenya has been tasked with formulating policy, coordinating public awareness programmes against FGM and supporting institutions.

Shattered by the cut

FGM procedures involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injuries to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.

As a result, women and girls suffer from severe pain, excessive bleeding, genital tissue swelling, fever, infections among other immediate complications.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the act, which is illegal in Kenya, does not only harm women and girls physically but also psychologically.

Survivors of FGM harbor emotions of pain, fear, shock, post-traumatic stress disorder, and low self-esteem as a result of the cut.  

At the age of four, Bibianna Balaf lost her mother and was under the care of her father when she underwent the cut.

“I was a young girl, when I felt the urge to undergo the cut. Without knowing its side effects, I underwent FGM when I was 5 years old. My mother wasn’t there to take care of me, so my wound got infected. I was taken back to the cutter to treat me,” she recalls. 

Years later, after getting married, the mother of five developed serious complications during each childbirth, which had physical and mental effects on her.

“If I knew it I would not be cut.”

She hopes that by sharing her story in survivor forums will help her heal from the trauma she suffered years ago.  

Another survivor, Sadia Hassan was 9 years old when her mother told her she is ready to undergo the cut. On the fateful day, Sadia peeped through the hole of the Manyatta where three other girls, who were ahead of her were being cut.

She tried to run away but was shortly accosted by a group of young men. To date, she recalls the scenes and screams from the manyatta hole.

Hafsa Dida lacked psychosocial support after being circumcised, and expressing emotions around the subject was considered taboo.

“I was taken to a cutter, and after a few days I was back home. My mother checked me, and said that it had not been done ‘properly’. So, I had to undergo the cut again. It was very painful and heartbreaking,” Hafsa says.

A number of women and girls said that they were not informed of what was awaiting them, only to be ambushed when a cutter comes to their home, or when they are sent to one miles away.

Mental Wellness for FGM

In Isiolo County, Mumina Jirmo, an FGM survivor holds a mother-daughter forum where women and girls sit together to share their stories.

“I had been living in darkness, surrounded by a lot of stigma and fear. But I found a safe space…learnt to let go of my trauma, release my anxiety,” Mumina says.

Under the Women Rising Initiative, the survivors also showcase their talents in beading, fashion and design, art, and beauty skills among others.

Kulo Kanchora, the chairperson of the Kenya Counselling Association, Isiolo branch has been working closely with the Women Rising Initiative, where she offers counselling to FGM survivors.

“The impact of FGM is people living with fear, anxiety, bitterness and depression. They live with this for long. Most people have focused on the physical effects of the cut and not mental challenges. There is need to know that FGM also affects girls and women psychologically,” she says.

Kanchora says that most communities have not been openly talking about the effects that FGM has had on survivors.

“As it is known, some women develop birth complications or even fistula as a result of FGM, without counselling, this can lead to serious mental health issues,” she adds.

For 23-year-old Sarah Sori, a Health Sciences graduate from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), arts became her refuge when she felt the need to express her emotions on surviving FGM.

“If you draw it they can see, they can discuss it. But if you approach them to talk about the issues you have, it will be shut down because no one wants to talk about the painful things,” Sarah says. 

In one series of her artwork, Sarah presents a jovial and naive girl, who grows up in an FGM-prone environment. 

As she gets older, she hears stories of FGM, knowing that she is also set to undergo the cut too. This takes part of her joy away, as she becomes bound by the blade, to remain silent and await marriage. 

Through her art, she further depicts how, what society deems ‘evil’, is just part of a woman’s body, which is precious. 

Hope for future generations

For fear that her daughter would be shamed for being an uncircumcised woman, Bibianna says she subjected her daughter to the same act.

“I have never talked to my daughter about her circumcision. We thought it was our culture and religion. They were never prepared, we just did it without knowing its effects,” she says.

She now has three granddaughters and is determined to shield them from undergoing the inhumane act. She has had an anti-FGM talk with all her five children.

Hafsa Dida is now a mother of one, and she has vowed not to allow her 8-year-old daughter to undergo FGM.

She talks to her about the subject, to educate her on the effects of the cut.

The Isiolo County Government has a Gender Policy, which aims at stopping FGM and also protecting survivors.

Gender Chief Officer Nura Diba says the county government has been supporting women groups financially. Their focus is also on the cutters, where they are offering them alternative sources of income for them to ditch FGM.

Focus on Survivor leadership

Martin Juma, a Safeguarding Lead at The Girl Generation – a programme focused on anti-FGM initiatives across Africa – advocates for interventions that focus on the emotional well-being of survivors.

“Whatever interventions we do, we should put emotional well-being. Anti-FGM campaigns have emotional impacts on the people who work in such spaces. It is important that survivors and those leading campaigns are safeguarded,” he says.

Martin adds that empowering survivors emotionally will also make them better champions in anti-FGM campaigns.

After undergoing the Survivor Leadership programme by The Girl Generation, Mumina started the Women Rising Initiative, which has seen survivors get psychological support just like her.

“I got to be much aware of the challenges I face as an FGM survivor, and how I can handle both my positive and negative emotions,” she says.

While many anti-FGM campaigns have focused on ending the vice, the plight of survivors should also be regarded as a main area of focus.