Ijara MP elect Sophia Abdi Noor has warned communities in the constituency and the larger North Eastern region still practicing Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) asking them to abandon the vice.
Noor says that she is going to lead fierce war against FGM and other degratory cultural practices that undermine the rights of women and girls.
In an interview on Citizen TV's Jeff Konange (JKL) Show on Wednesday, Noor said that FGM is still rampant in Northern Kenya.
The MP elect claimed that majority of communities still practice the vice which she said has shuttered the dreams of young girls.
"Female Gential Mutilation is still a serious cultural problem in North Eastern and as Ijara MP I have vowed to comfront it head on," she said during the interview.
Noor said that despite existence of stiffer penalties, the vice has refused to go away.
She appealed to religious leaders and community leaders to join the war against FGM and other cultural practices that have been past by time.
The MP elect also pledged to end gender based violence and empower the community without discrimination.
Noor became the first woman to be elced as MP in the larger North Eastern region in the recently concluded general election.
She won the Ijara seat on PDR party defeating veteran politician Mohammed Abbas.
She is among the MP elects who will be sworn into office today.
[Ijara MP elect Sophia Abdi Noor in a past event. She has vowed to spearhead the war against FGM.] (Photo: nation.co.ke)