Where morans turn their backs on 'cut' girls

KAJIADO: The UN sponsored International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is marked on February 6 each year.

To mark this day, we tour Rombo, Kajiado South, where we hear a wind of change is blowing.

Located in Loitoktok sub-county, just two kilometres from the Kenya-Tanzania border, the town has been among those where FGM is most rampant. But, morans are now leading a spirited campaign to defeat this age-old practice.

This marks a new-script that defies the practice of circumcising young girls then marrying them off to the highest bidder, who in most cases happen to be morans.

By taking this step, morans are now defending the girl’s right to not only go to school but also remain there and complete the education cycle.

This change in attitude is being driven by Kajiado South Chief Moran Joseph Toiwett who maintains: “Girls must now be allowed to become women without necessarily undergoing the cut”.

The 24-year-old, who is highly respected in sections of Kenya and Tanzania, is in-charge of more than 12,000 morans in the area.

On the eve of this global anti-FGM day, we find him addressing a group of morans at Ilatwat Manyatta. The attention the group accords him clearly testifies the respect he commands.

He says: “As morans, we have decided that our sisters must not get circumcised in order to qualify being called women. In the past, morans dictated that they should be circumcised but times have changed and we are also changing. In essence, morans and by extension men are the primary consumers of these circumcised girls through early marriages.”

“Because of this stringent condition by men and society, young girls who wanted to become women and gain acceptance in our community had no option but to meet these requirements. You were either circumcised or risked the curse of being anti-community. What that meant is that young girls were not listening to the the music of their hearts but dancing to the beat of men. We no longer kill lions to prove that we are men we therefore, can no longer subject our girls to this indignity. They are also our priceless national heritage if we allow them to discover and follow their dreams”.

Under Toiwett’s command, the morans have made a binding commitment to no longer marry circumcised girls. And during his address, Toiwett reminded them why this is in order.

“This is to ensure that they go to school, establish careers and become productive members of the community. Under the Constitution, there are leadership positions which are expressly slated for women.”

“If we allow them to remain in class, they can compete for and win such seats and we as a community stand to gain. We also do not want them to have health complications such as fistula and other dehumanising conditions,” he says.

This wind of change has, however, not been contained in Rombo, it is also blowing beyond the towering Mt Kilimanjaro.

Toiwett informs us that towards the end of last year, he joined more than 50,000 morans from Monduli, Tanzania, to reiterate their commitment that girls should be allowed to realise their full potential.

Dubbed the Monduli Declaration, this historical event was attended by political leaders with the then opposition presidential candidate, Edward Nyoyai Lowassa, sending a representative.

“From the meeting, we agreed to do our best to save our girls from this harmful practice. We are now planning a follow-up meeting to take stock of gains made due to this declaration,” Toiwett says.

The moran’s initiative has received backing across various advocacy group with Francis Odhiambo - team leader, Network of Youths In Action, saying bringing morans on-board is going to yield results and fast.

Odhiambo is engaging the young men through the Morans for Girls Education and Empowerment initiative saying their involvement has been the missing link.

“These young men are the future custodians of their culture and by bringing them on board, we are speaking directly to those who can secure the girl’s future. Listening to the morans speak, you get a sense of their conviction to allow more girls become women not through the blade, but by giving them opportunities in life. We only need to build on gains made so far by spreading the script to even more morans,” he says.

Odhiambo’s sentiments are shared by David Kaura of Kumekucha (New Dawn) initiative who uses school clubs across the sub-county to talk about the dangers of FGM.

“It is only by targeting and working closely with this group that we can begin to see changes and eventually win this war against FGM,” he says.

Another person who is excited about the emerging trend is Rombo Mixed Primary School head teacher Jacob ole Peneti who places a high premium on morans being the new frontier in defeating FGM.

“By focusing on them and having them reject FGM, we will realise a shift in cultural orientation,” he says.

The head-teacher said his school is already engaged in encouraging gender appreciation as a way of having boys and girls begin to see each other in a different light. They do this by promoting joint sporting activities.

“These boys are soon going to become morans. Having them compete with girls opens their eyes to the fact that girls also have abilities and can excel when given opportunity. This makes it easy for them to change their mindset and advocate to have girls spared from retrogressive cultural practises,” he says.