Violence Against Women
Source: TheStar
Kenyans are now taking their children to Tanzania to undergo female genital mutilation because of the strict and punitive laws against the offenders in Kenya.
Anti-FGM prosecutor in the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions Christine Nanjala said mothers and aunts are leading in transporting young girls to Tanzania.
"This is the new challenge in the fight against FGM. There are no anti-FGM laws in Tanzania. And even if there are, they are weak and are rarely enforced. This has made it easier for Kenyans," Nanjala said.
She was speaking at a consultative forum on the rights of women and the Prohibition of FGM Act 2011 at a Nairobi hotel yesterday.
Nanjala said FGM is also secretly carried out in clinics and other medical centres in Kenya, especially in areas where the vice is perceived a custom.
She said parents who still believe in FGM spend a lot of money in the clinics for their children to be cut.
Mary Wandia, a programme manager of an NGO, Equality Now, said the clinics are in Eastleigh in Nairobi and in North Eastern region.
She said the worst form of FGM is conducted in the health centres with high number of deaths reported last year. Kenya Anti-FGM Board chair Linah Kilimo said the board will today meet Tanzania officials in Oloitokitok to address the issue.
She urged the county governments to establish sanctuary camps for the rescued girls.