Active Citizenship: Standing Up Against FGM, Early Marriage and Violent Extremism

Education opens doors that would otherwise remain closed to you. I would like to go a step further with that popular thought and say that education lets you know that there are doors there in the first place. A good education is not just about learning different subjects and taking examinations to prove you have grasped them but challenging you to make improvements on the world and create opportunities to do so. Denying someone an education, is therefore robbing them of the knowledge of opportunities and the chance to take them.

Girls have faced the brunt of it when it comes too being denied an education. This is a sexist decision because it is based on the belief that girls are less valuable, less intelligent than boys and are therefore not worth investing in, especially when their main purpose in life is being a wife and mother. This belief has been disproven over generations as more women around the world have proven that gender is not a determining factor when it comes to intelligence, competence and capability. Still, the fight is not yet won as the discrimination is still rife in many parts of the world.

Boys are also not completely insulated as poverty can be a driving force to drop out of school to help their families by taking up odd jobs. When that is not possible, falling into crime can be tempting as it means quick access to much needed finances. Even more troubling, poverty makes young people more vulnerable to extremist groups who take advantage of the lack of prospects and stability.

In Kenya, one of the ways girls end up dropping out of school is through early marriage. This in many instances is prompted through FGM and/or teenage pregnancy. FGM in Kenya became illegal for minors through the Children’s Act in 2002, and for all in 2011 through the Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act. It’s also mentioned in the Sexual Offences Act and Human Trafficking Act.

FGM (Female Genital Mutilation) is the cutting or removal of some or all of the external female genitalia and is a form of GBV (Gender Based Violence). FGM has no benefits at all and in fact is incredibly harmful leading to a myriad of health problems or even death. As FGM is viewed as a transition from childhood to adulthood practice, the girls that go through it are encouraged to be women, which usually means pregnancy and marriage.

Fighting harmful practices like FGM, denial of girls to an education, violent extremism and early marriage require community support and action. Any lasting progress can only be made if the community is active in implementing it. This is true with any change the world has had as it begins with a person or small group of people who then over time recruit more people and are then able to make significant changes. It is the definition of being an active citizen.

Sometimes, active citizens need a helping hand. Ndoto Zetu is a community social investment initiative by Safaricom launched in January 2019 to support dreams Kenyans have for their communities. Safaricom will fulfil 500 dreams across the country.

Musa Abdi Haji and his colleagues are a great example of active citizens. He is the chair of the Kula Mawe Youth Mentorship Program based in Kula Mawe, Isiolo. The program has 235 members, all of whom are university students campaigning against FGM, radicalisation, violent extremism and early child marriage. Over 30% of young people are affected by these issues, and the program was started to tackle them.

Through Ndoto Zetu, the program has received Ksh 125,000 which will go towards buying sanitary towels and buying learning materials to aid in mentorship of close to 200 students annually, in a bid to assist behavioural change in the community.