Speaking at a launch dubbed “Hoiyo-Haigoynin”- which means Mum Don’t Cut Me, a program aimed at addressing Female Genital Mutilation among Somali community in Eastleigh, Nairobi County first lady Beatrice Sakaja narrated her ordeal on how she escaped the FGM practice while she was a young girl.

Speaking at the event, the County First Lady noted that she became aware of the practice through the mother who noted it was her right of passage and that the practice was being carried out to the females in the Taita community. This happened when she had asked her mother for help on the school assignment which was handed over by their teacher to discuss on unhealthy practice done within their respective communities.

“My grandmother was pushing for me to undergo FGM, if it wasn’t for my mother who stood firm and refused that I shouldn’t take part in it. That’s how I managed to escaped.” Beatrice said.

She added that Female Genital Mutilation was one the harmful practice that are being carried out in her Taita community and called upon fellow women to stop the cultural practice as she went ahead to thank her mother who defended her from the act where she regretted that most of her female relatives had undergone the cruel cultural practice.

“Women should stop the act of circumcising girls and fellow women they way my mother went against her mother-in-law to protect me from the act” She said.

She called upon the need to involve men and boys in the fight against this cultural practice for she says that they have the ability to impose change in their respective communities.

“For me to escape the cruel act, it had to take the help of my father and father-in-law for it to be successful, this is to say that men should talk to their sons and siblings in order to fight FGM since they have an influence in the society,” MS Sakaja said.

First lady, praised the Mum Don’t Cut Me project with is spearheaded by Zinduka-Kenya in conjunction with Men End FGM Foundation, saying that it is a good project that everybody has to support in order to protect the women and girls in Nairobi from the Cut. The project targets Somali community for they have high number of Female Genital Mutilation case.

February 8, 2023

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