More than a decade on, Kenya's FGM laws still lag in enforcement

Elderly women carry home blankets after a mentorship program in the campaign against Female Genital Mutilation and Gender-Based Violence in 2024. [Sammy Omingo, Standard]

As Kenya marks the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), women’s rights groups have called on the government to strengthen enforcement of laws and policies that criminalise the practice.

UN Women said on Friday, February 6, that implementation of Kenya’s ban on FGM remains uneven nearly two decades after it was introduced. 

“Kenya’s ban on FGM has been in place for more than a decade. Yet enforcement remains uneven, particularly in communities where social pressure is high,” the agency said.

 The National Gender and Equality Commission (NGEC) echoed the concerns, noting that FGM continues in some communities under the guise of cultural rites of passage.

NGEC chairperson Rehema Jaldessa called on communities to challenge the practice and urged increased investment in education and health services to empower girls and support survivors.

She noted that new challenges have emerged, including the cutting of younger girls, the medicalisation of FGM, and the use of cross-border routes to evade detection.

According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), more than 230 million girls and women worldwide have undergone FGM, with an estimated four million girls at risk in 2026 alone.

Another 23 million girls could face the practice over the next four years if current trends continue.

Kenya has pledged to eliminate FGM by 2030, now less than four years away, but rights groups say progress is threatened by funding cuts to donor-supported programmes and growing resistance to girls’ and women’s rights.

“There can be no end to female genital mutilation without sustained commitment and investment,” UNFPA said.

“The UNFPA-UNICEF joint programme, together with partners, calls on everyone to renew commitments, safeguard hard-won progress, and ensure that every woman and girl can live free from FGM.”

UN Women echoed similar sentiments, saying “while progress has been made, global commitments must be matched with sustained financing, community-led solutions, and protection for the most vulnerable to achieve elimination by 2030.”

World Vision Kenya National Director Gilbert Kamanga described FGM as a violation of girls’ rights and dignity, saying ending the practice requires collective action. “Ending it requires sustained commitment from all of us. When we protect girls, keep them in school, and support communities to lead change, we create a future where every girl can grow up safe, healthy, and hopeful,” Kamanga said. 

This year’s theme for the International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM is “Towards 2030: No end to female genital mutilation without sustained commitment and investment.”