The Government, in collaboration with civil society organizations, has launched a campaign focused on eliminating the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) among urban refugees who engage in this practice.
Despite the initiatives undertaken by the Ugandan government, and various partners to eradicate FGM and other harmful cultural practices among the local ethnic groups in Sebei and Karamoja sub regions in the Eastern part of the country, it was realized that the prevalence of FGM continues to persist significantly among some refugees communities especially from Somalia, Sudan, and South Sudan.
During a meeting with Somali and Sudan refugees in Mengo and Nateete on Friday, Joel Mandu, a legal officer with the Office of the President under the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), said that the practice among the refugees, undermines the achievements that have been registered in the local communities in Sebei and Karamoja sub regions where the practice has reduced drastically.
“The sensitization was overlong-due. Actually, many of them have confessed that FGM is happening and the even know the places where it is conducted. Others said that some of them take their daughters back to Somalia for circumcision through Kenya borders, and after they bring them back,” he noted.
Adding: “This also points to unabated acts of human trafficking, which exposes the weakness on our borders,” he said.
The meeting was convened by ActionAid International Uganda (AAIU), the primary advocate against female genital mutilation (FGM), in collaboration with the KCCA and the Office of the President, with assistance from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
AAIU, with financial support from UNFPA, is executing a project aimed at eradicating harmful practices within communities.
The initiative primarily targets female genital mutilation, as well as addressing issues related to child and early marriage, along with other forms of gender-based violence.
Under the new initiative, they are also collaborating with organizations such as African Humanitarian Action and the Norwegian Refugee Committee on the ground.
The week-long meetings were conducted in areas such as Nateete, Mengo, and Kawempe, in Kampala with the objective of raising awareness among the Somali and Sudanese communities in the regarding Uganda’s Anti-FGM Law of 2010 and the potential repercussions associated with the practice for the victims.
During the meeting, several participants disclosed that they had been forced to undergo FGM by their own parents.
They alleged that the practice continues to be conducted secretly in specific clinics in Kisenyi, a central suburb of down Kampala.
Kisenyi is a renowned settlement for Somali refugees.
The initiative, as outlined by Sam Francis Ononge, the AAIU project officer focused on FGM, seeks to eradicate FGM within the urban refugee communities of Kampala specifically targeting individuals from Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan (both North and South), and Eritrea.
He emphasized that the primary goal is to enhance awareness of the FGM legislation in Uganda by engaging in comprehensive information dissemination and conducting thorough research within these communities.
“We have discovered that Sudanese communities are also involved in the practice of FGM. This awareness campaign aims to engage community leaders and mainly youth in advocating for the abandonment of FGM,” he said.
In the course of meetings, various groups formed surveillance teams specifically tasked with overseeing FGM practices in their specific communities, thereby improving their capacity to report and monitor incidents efficiently.
Ononge stated that this practice is both outdated and unlawful, violating the current legislation in Uganda.
One of the key findings from the meeting indicated that FGM within the Somali community is performed in designated clinics and private settings, which complicates efforts to monitor the practice.
Additionally, it was disclosed that certain in-laws follow women to ensure that their nieces are returned to Somalia for the purpose of undergoing mutilation.
It was also revealed that parents often entice young girls into undergoing circumcision by promising them simple rewards such as chicken, soda, cakes, new clothes and shoes.
This practice, which begins at a tender age, leads to the girls being circumcised, only for them to later understand the implications of this decision as they mature and enter into marriage.
“The good thing is that through various programs many refugees, especially the Somalis have been empowered and now can speak up without fear. They are now like our ambassadors promoting the campaign further. Many were forced into it and know the implications. So, these surveillance teams will help to monitor and report these incidents,” he added.
One of the victims, who requested to remain anonymous, revealed that she was subjected to forced mutilation at the age of nine and was subsequently married at fifteen by her parents.
At 25, she is currently a single mother of five. She recounted her decision to divorce a few years ago, following the pain she was experiencing during sexual intercourse and childbirth.
Other participants, particularly from the Sudanese refugee community in Uganda, openly denounced the troubling cultural practice of FGM, emphasizing its detrimental effects on the self-esteem of women in their community.
It has been asserted that this detrimental cultural practice is shrouded in numerous myths that serve to promote it.
Such promotion fosters the belief that women who do not undergo mutilation will face diminished prospects for marriage.
Abdalla Bassma, a Sudanese refugee and a member of the Nankulabye, Kisenyi, and Mengo community, FGM lacks any real value for women and is, in fact, a source of considerable distress. She emphasized that this practice presents significant health risks to women.
She said it is unfortunate religious leaders have chosen to remain silent regarding the health risks faced by women and young girls, even though they are aware of the harm caused by this practice.
This is the reason they have taken a stand against it.
“We want to stop this habit and we want to tell everyone that this should stop here and thankfully, the Ugandan Law is on our side,” she noted.
Bassma observed that numerous myths exist regarding this practice, with certain individuals holding the belief that a girl who participates in it can preserve her virginity.
“In the community some youths and families think that the girl who has gone through FGM process is able to reserve her Virginity more than the girl who hasn’t,” She said
“They believe that a girl who hasn’t gone through FGM process, is not pure and you’re not suitable for marriage. So, this forces many into the practice to avoid stigma. Even in school or in community while playing, her agemates will call her names. This causes most of these girls to be traumatized,” she says.
Bassma disclosed that this practice is prevalent in Kampala, especially among Sudanese refugee communities, while for those outside these communities, it is often overlooked, since it remains a concealed practice.
Emmanuella Iggale, a recognized Sudanese refugee, expressed that FGM promotes early marriages, as girls are frequently subjected to mutilation at the age of 12, thereby rendering them suitable for marriage.
“When a girl is to get her period, they make a celebration, that is like to inform the community that she’s actually now a woman and that basically opens room for suitors to come in and ask for her hand in marriage,” she adds.
“So, these suitors do not have to be of any specific age. They could be 30, 40 or 50 years, it doesn’t really matter, but as long as they come to your family, they come with a bride price, they come with cows, let’s say, like 100 or 80 cows, maybe and they come with a lot of money, and they give it to your family like for refugees in Kampala. And because these are really in need, they give the girl up for marriage, no matter the age,” she noted.
The practice, as she indicated, also heightens the risk of HIV and AIDS, as well as the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), due to the fact that individuals engaging in it are not tested, lack proper training, and utilize the same instruments.
Commitments
In an effort to eradicate this practice, the Sudanese and Somali urban refugee communities have proposed various strategies, seeking support from Uganda and other partners to end the practice.
They underscored the importance of increased awareness regarding FGM among their communities, as the practice t offers no benefits to a girl’s life and instead inflicts enduring suffering. “Our people need to know FGM has no positive effects on the girls, but rather inflicts lifetime pain,” she noted.
They also urged governments to incorporate the issue into the education curricula at all levels, enabling young individuals to be informed and recognize it as a detrimental practice.
Sudanese women expressed their appreciation for AAIU and UNFPA initiatives aimed at eradicating FGM.
They called for the organizations and government to collaborate with medical practitioners and legal experts, to raise awareness within their communities regarding the adverse impacts of this practice on the lives of girls.
Salih Idris Adam, the chairman of the Sudanese Refugee community, expressed the desire to raise awareness within their communities regarding the FGM-Act 2010 in order to prevent potential arrests.
He asserted that this practice results in loss of life, as certain girls and women succumb to its consequences.
“This is the reason we have chosen to take a stand against it,” he noted
