1.1 Introduction #
An alternative rite of passage (ARP) is an essential approach to end FGM that employs a symbolic process as a passage from childhood to womanhood. The process constitutes training in life skills, sexual and reproductive health rights and education, while eliminating the harmful genital cut in a community. ARP is not a standalone approach but a product of community dialogue and school-based engagements. Different agencies have been implementing ARPs in an uncoordinated manner, creating the need for guidelines to harmonize the ARP processes, activities, measures of success and impact towards elimination of FGM. To address this, the Anti-FGM board has developed this guideline to harmonize how ARP will be delivered in an effective manner.
This guideline is meant for all agencies, groups and individuals involved in ARP activities as a strategy to end FGM and gender biases at the community level. It will enable implementers of ARP to organize and conduct an effective ARP programme and most importantly, enable agencies, groups and individuals to customize, report, monitor, evaluate and review the ARP programmes.
1.2 Background #
Kenya has a legal framework and policies which are geared towards the protection of women and girls from FGM and other harmful practices. Article 53 (1) (d) of the Constitution of Kenya provides that “Every child has the right to be protected from abuse, neglect, harmful cultural practices, all forms of violence, inhuman treatment and punishment, and hazardous or exploitative labour’’. Section 14 of the Children Act 2001 on the protection of young people from harmful cultural rights states: “No person shall subject a child to female circumcision, early marriage or other cultural rights, customs or traditional practices that are likely to negatively affect the child’s life, health, social welfare, dignity or physical or psychological development.”
To operationalize Article 53 (1) (d) of the constitution, the National Assembly enacted the Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act 2011. The Act prohibits the practice of FGM and safeguards against the violation of a person’s mental or physical integrity. The Act also provides for the formation of the Anti-Female Genital Mutilation Board, which is mandated to uphold the dignity and empowerment of girls and women in Kenya through the coordination of initiatives, awareness creation, and advocacy against FGM.
In Kenya, there has been a gradual decline in FGM among women aged 15-49, from 38% (1999) to 32% (2003), 27% (2008), and 21% recorded in the 2013 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS 2014). However, there is still a high prevalence of FGM among certain communities; for instance, Somali (94%), Samburu (86%), Kisii (84%) and Masai (78%)(KDHS 2014).
The above statistics show that FGM continues to persist since it is deeply rooted in cultures of these practising communities. It impedes the achievement of the social pillar in Kenya’s Vision 2030 goal for socio-economic development. It also impedes the sustainable development goals (SDGs), and specifically target 5.3 which aims to eliminate all harmful practices such as child marriage and FGM, and realise the vision of achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment. Communities that practise FGM contend that it plays an important social function that would be difficult to replace because of the meaning attached to the practises.
A range of interventions and approaches are employed against FGM; these include the encouragement of alternative rites of passage, awareness creation campaigns, legal approaches, community education and empowerment and community dialogue.
