Police rescue seven women in cut ritual

By MICHAEL WESONGA

Elgeyo/Marakwet, Kenya: Seven women forcibly circumcised are receiving specialised treatment at Iten County Hospital after they were discovered at a private residence in Sambaptri village, Elgeyo/Marakwet County.

The women, aged between 24 and 36, were rescued by police in an operation on Wednesday morning as scores of villagers milled around the homestead to witness the rare event.

One of the victims, Vivian Chepchirchir who has one child, said she offered herself for genital mutilation because she was being insulted, assaulted and ejected out of official ceremonies by other women.

“This is my third day here. I resorted to it secretly and without the knowledge of my husband who has never raised concerns,” she explained.

Alice Cheruto, a mother of two, said she decided to undergo the initiation rite because she was being victimised at ceremonies and labelled a child.

The women could not explain why sections of their heads were shaved or why cow dung was smeared on their legs in the 8pm ceremony.

The owner of the homestead,  Anne Kibet, 53, said the women were there because they had been chased away from their houses.

“Their mothers approached me to offer them shelter in the last three days as they undergo the process but I am not the one responsible for the act. It is another woman who lives nearby,” she said.

Kibet explained that in order for uncircumcised women to learn the importance of the ritual, they are usually given a full cabbage by either their husbands or mothers-in-law and told to prepare it without cutting it.

“The act serves as an ironic pointer that they should undergo the cut,” said Kibet.