Barely hours after a medical doctor stunned the country with a campaign seeking to legalise female circumcision(FGM), professionals and elders from the Marakwet community have come out in support of Dr Tatu Kamau.
The supporters also want the anti-FGM board disbanded because “it has caused a lot of unnecessary suffering in the fight against female genital mutilation”.
In fact, the elders said yesterday that they would present gifts to Kamau because they believe in her just cause.
“We have been hunted and punished for engaging in FGM yet it is our cultural right,” mzee Kirior Bitok told the Star.
Professors Luka Kutto and Cosmas Lotikor said they fully support the case as it will liberate those who have been punished for engaging in the outlawed cultural practice.
“We have been exposed to unnecessary ridicule and embarrassment as a community because of FGM and our women have been socially frustrated yet it’s our right,” said Lotikir.
He noted that no woman had died from the cut and that the government has no constitutional obligation to ban FGM.
“The merits are far better than the demerits.”
Professor Lotikir added that FGM promotes discipline in marriages because incidents of divorce among women who are circumcised are minimal.
“Married women who are circumcised do not engage in extra-marital affairs and are highly disciplined.”
Professor Kutto said FGM should be optional and those who choose to go through it should not be harassed or punished.
“The case is a bold step to restore the rights of those who choose to undergo FGM”, he said.
The professionals and elders said more than 100 of them will travel to the Machakos court for the hearing of the case on February 26.
