A Kenyan medical doctor, Dr Tatu Kamau, wants the government to legalise Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).
Kamau, whose case is being listened to by a three-judge bench also wants the anti-FGM board disbanded.
”A declaration that the second respondents purportedly established by this act is illegal as it was created without the authority of the law,” reads part of her application.
According to the doctor, the law prohibiting the practice of FGM should be declared unconstitutional. The doctor notes that this law inhibits people's freedom of choice in practising their traditional culture.
In her opinion, banning FGM meant that the country had imposed westernization upon Kenyans.
However, her application has been met with objections from various groups in the country. The Federation of Women Lawyers in Kenya (FIDA), National Gender and Equality Commission, Kenya Women Parliamentary Association and Katiba Sasa are groups opposing her application.
She first presented her case in court in 2018. The Female Genital Mutilation Act was passed in 2011. Despite people being prohibited from the act, some communities still undergo the practice.
According to the law, anyone found doing this act will be sentenced to not less than three years or pay a fine of Sh200, 000.
The case which was initially being heard at Machakos Law Courts was referred to the Chief Justice after it attracted public interest.