Rebel with a cause, mother of ten refuses to have her daughters undergo FGM

KURIA: Naomi Ghatti Marwa, 47, from Ntimaru, Kuria East, committed a cardinal sin against her people after refusing to allow her girls to undergo female circumcision.

This stance was seen as an affront to her community’s values and she has paid the ultimate price of violence and ex-communication from her people.

“It is the norm among our people that once girls are circumcised, they are married off at the mere wish of their fathers. I was not having it and I told the elders and my husband that I wanted the girls to remain in class and establish careers like girls from other regions.

By saying that, I became anti-community. It is unheard of for women to challenge their husbands and elders. I am here because I defied their authority,” she says while trying to hide her pain.

Naomi has a scar on her chest, which is a testimony to the violence meted on her by her husband in 2007 when she took the bull by its horns.

“This scar reminds me of the pain I underwent to have my girls remain in class. After the beating, my two houses were reduced into ashes. My husband vowed to separate from me till death,” she says holding back tears.

Today, the mother of ten lives in a single room at Ntimaru market.

With limited income options, she makes ends meet by selling seedlings from a nursery bed she has put up right outside her door.

After being cut off from her people, Naomi’s only hope rests in having her girls have access to education.

“I do not have a husband to assist me, only these girls who will one day wipe my tears,” she says.

Due to their past, two of her daughters have since changed their names.

Maria Njaga currently in Form Four changed her name to Shida (problems) while Nancy Nyangi who is in Form One adopted Sikujua (I didn’t know).

True to their ordeal, they did not know that being girls was a problem in their community.

“I want to study hard so that I become a doctor. My mother has suffered a lot for us to be in class,” Maria says.

“My mother was sent away because she wanted us to remain in school. My only reward for her is to become a journalist. I also want to be an example to other girls in my community,” declares Nancy.

The issue of circumcision among the Kuria is still a hot topic with elders vowing to hold onto it despite changing times. They decide on the circumcision calendar.

For example, next December, circumcision is expected to be held in the Bugumbe clan.

“This is our culture and nobody will stop us. All Kuria elders from Kenya and Tanzania meet to decide on the ceremony’s date. We also pick the first batch of those to be circumcised.

As for girls, only a small section of their body is cut. That is how they become mature. They still remain in class afterwards. We do not insist that they get married at an early age,” says elder Zachary Wantai Babire.

He sits in the ‘njama’ (wise men) committee that determines the ‘saro’ (circumcision) calendar among the Bwiregi clan.

While Wantai appears to hold the view that female circumcision causes no harm to the girl, county assembly member and anti-female circumcision crusader Susan Mohabe says the practice is a violation.

“Our people view it as a rite of passage but really it is an impediment to our girls. Although some parents are willing to stop this practice, they fear stigma and sometimes ex-communication from community, while girls who avoid circumcision are ostracised,” she says.

It is however, not all doom and gloom. There are girls whose parents resisted the dictates, and they are now pursuing their tertiary education with many others joining top national schools.

“We are using these girls as role models to show that a complete girl is not necessarily one who is circumcised. We want our girls to embrace education,” she said.

Susan however, reveals that it is still an uphill task convincing elders and male politicians who refuse to speak against the practice.

“Elders still hold sway on this issue. Very few have changed their mindset. Our politicians are afraid to speak on the matter for fear of losing votes during elections. However, it is only if we speak in one voice that this battle will be won,” she says.

Perhaps if this battle had ‘already been won’ Naomi’s situation would not have been as it is today. Forced to live without her community’s support for standing up for what is right.