Police dispersed a group of youth who tried to disrupt a meeting called to discuss the Female Genital Mutilation menace in Ntimaru, Kuria, Migori County.
Authorities were on Saturday talking to a group of 440 rescued girls in the area when a group tried to disrupt the meeting.
The girls had been rescued from homes to protect them from being forced to FGM. They were kept at various places for the holiday as a way of protecting them from being subjected to the menace which is rampant in the area.
The parents were called to the meeting and warned against the practice before being handed their children.
Despite stringent measures in place on the menace, it is still rampant in some places in the country.
It is seen as a cultural practice.
The trend, which is still popular in the area and some places is harmful practice involving partial or total removal of female genitalia, with Kenya’s 2011 Act being a strong example, criminalizing perpetrators (including medical staff) and those who aid it, setting penalties like imprisonment, and establishing oversight bodies like the Anti-FGM Board to enforce these laws, though enforcement faces challenges due to deep-rooted cultural norms.
International human rights law also provides a basis for eliminating FGM, recognizing it as a violation of women’s rights, with many nations adopting legislation to comply.
The law outlines severe penalties, including life imprisonment for FGM-related deaths, while promoting public awareness and alternative rites of passage to foster cultural change.
Despite the severe punishment set, the practice is still rampant in many places. Authorities have increased campaigns against the practice in many places in the country as part of ways of address the same.
