The
editorial article “Join Campaign to end
teenage pregnancies”, Daily Monitor,
Wednesday July 16th caught my attention.
The
“Let girls be girls” campaign launched recently by the Ministry of Health in
Butaleja district is indeed an important national crusade that should be upheld
in all districts in order to attain positive results by end of the 12 month
timeline. My view is, we could do this alongside other disparaging issues like
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in the Karamoja region.
The campaign unveiled by Sarah Opendi, State Minister for Primary Health Care aims at fighting teenage pregnancies so as to cut down the current high maternal mortality rate in Uganda. We can equally integrate other demoralizing practices; FGM, Child Labour, Child Sacrifices and Child Neglect concerns into the fight.
In particular, the
practice of FGM has remained at large among the Tepeth and the Pokot people of
Moroto and Amudat districts of Karamoja despite the Anti FGM Act of 2010.
The
Act, yes prohibits the practice of FGM, recommends prosecution of offenders and
the protection of victims –girls and women. However, the FGM culture seems
stronger than this law.
Last
week in Moroto district, I witnessed a painful scenario where four young Tepeth
girls of ages between 12 to 14 were found injured after suffering a harsh
cultural maiming of their female genitals. Thank God Police were quick to respond, and
the abusers were easily apprehended.
Perpetrators
of such human rights violations take advantage of the destitute conditions that
children face in the Karamoja setting.
For the Tepeth and Pokot, the season for harvest is also the time for
FGM. They believe the girls would easily be kept in confined places and food
provided. Because it is culture, children are just forced to dare with it as
long as there is no one looking. These days the practice is done in the hidden
and mainly at night hours because the ‘engineers’ are aware of the law, but
obdurately insist to do it probably for a living.
As
a result, several girl children of school going age and beyond have found their
ways out of their homesteads due to fear of the practice. Some end up being
trafficked by opportunists into other locations where they are turned into sex
slaves, casual labourers and street dwellers.
Actually,
the fear of such injurious treatment coupled with other economic difficulties
back home defines the constant migration of Karimojong young women and girls into
urban streets and across the borders to Kenya. Helpless Karimojong women are
commonly seen in the streets of Mbale, Iganga, Kampala, Masindi and in Nasal of
North Pokot –Kenya.
According
to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), about 1,000 girls run away from
their homes between 2012 and 2013 to safety centers in designated schools that
government recommended in six districts where the practice of FGM were sighted.
Such condition makes children lose confidence in life and fail to plan for
their future.
The
Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development and partners like UNFPA, Mifumi
among others ensured some dissemination of information and creation of safe
havens for FGM victims in Karamoja and neighboring locations since 2010.
The
initiative also ensured that close to 70,000 people were touched with
information on the FGM law and redress mechanism through drama, outreaches,
commemoration of cultural days, exchange visits, trainings and use of role
models. Such efforts ought to be strengthened and pinned at the grass root
levels to ensure sustainability.
According
to the UN World Health Organization, about 150 million women from across the
world suffer the harsh consequences of FGM. We are part of this problem;
however with a law already in place, we need to double efforts to kick this
wickedness out of our Country. We can only do this through a holistic approach
where deep-rooted village members from the at risk communities are aboard. Let’s
join hands for this Course.
