County officials in Taveta County say parents are ferrying their daughters into Tanzania to undergo FGM. [Photo/newsweek]
Officials in Taveta Sub-County now claim that parents have devised a new way to ensure their daughters undergo Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).
A report by the County Area Advisory Committee showed that parents were now sneaking their daughters into neighbouring Tanzania to undergo the 'cut'.The committee members said parents were colluding with people from Tanzania to ensure their girls undergo FGM.They further said efforts to end the vice have been hindered by such moves.According to the report, FGM is still rampant in parts of Taveta despite efforts by government agencies to eliminate it.For instance, county Children's Officer Juma Boga said nine cases of FGM were reported in the region between January and March this year."We have been reporting high cases of absenteeism among young girls especially in the first two weeks of re-opening schools. On inquiry, the school administration discovered the minors had been taken to Tanzania for circumcision," said Boga as quoted by the Standard.He said the Nyumba Kumi initiative involving chiefs and their assistants would go a long way in helping tame the vice.On his part, Assistant County Commission Teddy Bonaya warned parents that they risk arrest and prosecution if found culpable."It is illegal to engage in such harmful practices. Anyone found doing so will be arrested and prosecuted," said Bonaya.Human rights activist Hajji Mwakio decried the rampant vice stating that a lot needs to be done to end it.