[Garissa women demonstrating to lament over FGM. An anti-FGM group has indicated that the exercise has been persistent in the area.] (Photo/The Star)
An anti-FGM lobby has announced its plans to sponsor a private bill at the county to prohibit the practice. According to a local daily, there are rampant cases of young girls who undergo mutilation in the county with the rural areas being the most affected.
Zahara Hashim, coordinator at Sister’s Maternity Home, argued the practice of mutilation has taken root in rural areas despite ban thereby making it necessary for an extra action that will see it stop with immediate.
Speaking at an awareness forum for anti-FGM crusaders from five sublocations in Garissa township, Hashim pointed an accusing finger at parents for not being vigilant to ensure that the vice does not continue to be practice in the area considering the many negative impacts it has on them.
On his part, Sheikh Hussein Mahat, a renowned Islamic scholar, said that religion is not to blame for the increased cases of mutilated girls in the county over the past years.
“This is purely a cultural practice sneaked into religion to attract a larger audience. This act is illegal and must be termed so,” he said. Cases of young girls who drop out of school to get married after mutilation have also become very common in this part of the nation.