Kapchorwa’s eternal scars

December 4th 2008

It was a custom that made her to, for the first time, consider running away from her own parents’ home. Even if it meant she would never see any member of her family again, Ms Evelyn Chemitai, felt she could endure that more than what her parents wanted to subject her to.

But Ms Chemitai’s family did not give her the time she needed to plan her get-away. One evening, her parents told her to either fulfil her cultural obligations or be banished from the family forever. While she had contemplated running away, the thought of being banished when she did not know where she would end up, boxed her into a corner.

“With no place to seek refuge, I had to accept the demands of my parents to take the circumcision,” said Ms Chemitai, who was 18 when she was subjected to the custom.

The ‘circumcision’ of a woman, as narrated by Ms Chemitai, makes even a hardened man who has faced the knife without any anaesthetic during a Bugisu imbalu ceremony, cringe a little at some point.

Now 26 years old, Ms Chemitai narrated that on the fateful day, the candidates were kept inside a house under close supervision by the elders and lectured about the importance of circumcision in preparation for marriage.

During the night, according to Ms Chemitai, they sang and danced ‘to welcome womanhood’.

“This is done usually to prepare the girls to withstand circumcision because cowardice or fear is considered abominable to the clan and such a girl would be shunned by men, however, beautiful,” she added.

At about 4:30am, the candidates were taken out to a river, where they were bathed and ‘cleansed’ by the elders.

“After the bath, we came back inside the house and I came out very fast like it is expected, fell down and spread my legs. Shortly after, a surgeon came for me and without looking there or blinking like it is expected, I felt a sharp pain and it was already done,” explained Ms Chemitai.

Today, Ms Chemitai bears both the physical and emotional scars of the practice, better known to the world as female genital mutilation (FGM). “It was so painful and I have not forgotten the experience,” she said.

In Uganda, FGM is carried out by the Sabiny tribe in Kapchorwa and Bukwo districts and the Pokot in Nakapiripirit District.

Across the world, according to statistics from the UN FGM data and trends, at least 100-140 million girls and women worldwide have undergone FGM and that another three million are likely to have been circumcised by the end of this year.

Amongst the Sabiny, FGM involves the partial or total removal of the clitoris and the clitoral hood [Clitoridectomy] to basically kill the sensitivity of the woman to any sexual feelings.

For the Pokot, the women undergo excision; the partial or total removal of the clitoris, labia minora and infibulations, which involves the narrowing of the vaginal orifice and creation of a covering seal by cutting and placing together the labia minora and labia majora without excision of the clitoris.

The chairman Sabiny Elders Association, Mr George William Cheborion, says female circumcision, locally known as wonsetap koruk, is a very old custom with a mysterious origin which is meant to initiate young girls into adulthood.

Legend has it that although female circumcision was meant to initiate young girls into adulthood, later it was used by jealous men to keep their wives out of adultery.

“In wonsetap koruk, the girl is made sexually inactive and the target here is to just have sex for reproduction and not for enjoyment as this can tempt her into adultery,” says Mr Cherukut.

The LC5 chairman for Kapchorwa, Mr Nelson Chelimo, says the origin of FGM is linked to the origin of the Sabiny given the fact that all tribes related to them circumcise.

“The origin of FGM is still not very clear but one thing which is clear is that all tribes related to us like the Pokot [both Uganda and Kenya], Kalenjin communities in Kenya all circumcise and even Ethiopia where we are believed to have migrated from,” said Ms Chelimo.

Although the culture is losing popularity among many an educated Sabiny, many elders consent that it was so powerful in traditional Sabiny community that a woman who is not circumcised was abused, segregated, never got a partner for marriage among the Sabiny and that she was usually banished from the clan or forced to do it.

Women who underwent the ritual were taught to secretly monitor the behaviour of unmarried young girls to ensure they kept out of sex until they were circumcised; this explains how and why girls were circumcised as early as 12 years.

Although UN reports on FGM data and trends in 2007 indicate that the practice poses physical and mental health risks especially for women who have undergone extreme forms of procedure, traditionalists have resisted dropping FGM, arguing that the practice gives dignity to the traditional Sabiny woman.

Today, following the condemnation of the practice, many of those who continue to carry out the custom do so in the night after an arrangement between the traditional surgeons and the girls’ parents.

Health experts say FGM poses a serious threat to the health of women and girls, leads to loss of interest in sex, increases vulnerability to HIV, raises the risk of maternal and infant mortality and causes severe pain, urinary inconvenience, and makes the women vulnerable to haemorrhage, tetanus infections, and cysts.

Source: Daily Monitor 4 December 2008