It’s Christmas for FGM

It is not only Christmas for us, but for FGM also. This is the time when FGM flourishes. Mothers and grandmothers have been waiting all year for this time to cut their girls. Preparations were made as early as November.

It’s Christmas time and there is no doubt that this is the best time of the year. We all love Christmas. We love the holiday spirit, being around our loved ones, good food, and the merriness of the time. Here in Kisii it is a similar case. The kids are around for the holidays. My brood is full and every morning am surrounded by kisses and goodnights every night. No time better than the Christmas holidays.  

But again, it is not only Christmas for us, but for FGM also. This is the time when FGM flourishes. Mothers and grandmothers have been waiting all year for this time to cut their girls. Preparations were made as early as November. Immediately the girls closed schools, some of them were circumcised. But most of them are waiting for around this time, close to Christmas. They want the celebrations to continue into the Christmas season. A lot of girls are being circumcised now and still more next week so that they can be healed by Christmas. The ‘coming out’ ceremony after the girls heal will then be held in the early 20s and this is strategic for many reasons.  

The girls will be bought new clothes for the ‘coming out’ and they can use these clothes for Christmas.  

In the ‘coming out’ ceremony, people can continue to eat and drink well into the Christmas day.  

More importantly, the girls will be ready to receive Jesus when He is born on Christmas.  

People still need a lot of information on the effects of FGM. I do this everywhere and using every avenue I can. I teach Sunday school in my church and what a better avenue to tell these children the negative effects of FGM.  

Most of them have not heard of these effects or the message before.  

So we teamed up with this youthful priest who is really into youth affairs. We talked to him and he agreed to give us a space in the monthly church magazine and here we will use our voice, our words, and our conviction to ensure that the message of FGM reaches as many people as possible.  

We need to be united against this practice.

We all have a tool we can use to advance the fight against FGM.

We need to use that tool and make Christmas celebrations in Kisii really about Christ and not about FGM.