The story of a former cutter

A Kenyan nurse performed female genital mutilation procedures for years. In this article, she explains why she stopped.

“I graduated as a nurse in Uganda in 2007 and returned to work in my home region in Kisii, Kenya. I started looking for a job and ended up at a certain clinic. I began working in November, and in December it started: it was the peak season for female genital mutilation, and I, too, was expected to start performing the procedures.

I was a newly graduated nurse and had not learned the procedure in school. However, my boss showed me how it was done. So I began cutting. The female genital mutilation of one girl cost the parents 1,000 shillings. I received half of the fee, and the other half went to the clinic. 

At that time, mutilation was not yet illegal. It was done quite openly, in broad daylight. There was no need to fear getting caught.

Behind closed doors

Now the situation is different: mutilation is carried out in secret, either at night or very early in the morning. Procedures performed during the day are disguised as regular medical visits. More and more girls are taken for the procedure during the April or August school holidays – or even on an ordinary weekend – rather than during the traditional time in December. Parents may not even dare to tell friends or relatives about the procedure.

Previously, girls were between the ages of 11 and 15. Today, girls’ genitals are typically cut as early as seven years old, as a small child is not yet able to defend itself.

Cutting is no longer commonly done in clinics or hospitals, but healthcare professionals still perform the procedures in people’s homes. They fear getting caught, but continue the mutilations for the extra income.

The nurses who perform mutilations do not tell those who have stopped practicing it about their activities. They fear that those of us who have quit would report them to the authorities.

Hospitals should take a more active role in stopping mutilation and impose punishments on employees who perform it. And professionals should look for other sources of additional income.

“I now see the girls’ suffering.”

I mutilated girls’ genitals for 15 years. At first I did it openly and later secretly when it became illegal. Three years ago something happened: my eyes were opened to the suffering of girls. It was the women of the Dream Team Sisters organization who made me think in a new way.

One experience still lingers in my mind: a little girl was sent from Nairobi to her grandparents in the countryside to be mutilated. The girl refused – she said firmly no. However, the parents insisted that the procedure had to be done. They cherished the tradition. I mutilated the girl’s genitals, but there were many difficulties in carrying out the procedure and I did not do it very well, because the girl resisted. That girl is often in my mind as a reminder that we did wrong.

“That’s why I stopped.”

I am proud and thank God that I no longer perform the procedure. Instead, I work hard to help others stop as well. When I talk for the first time with a professional who performs mutilation, they usually resist the idea of stopping the procedure. But as the conversation deepens and I present my arguments more clearly, many of them begin to understand.

“I am a woman, and I am part of a chain: I have a daughter who will have a daughter in the future, who will have a daughter. If we continue mutilation, we ruin our daughters and their futures. I now see the suffering of girls and women. That’s why I stopped. I will never do it again.”

My own daughter is now six years old. I teach her that mutilation is wrong. Her genitals will not be mutilated – and I intervene whenever I hear that someone intends to take their daughter for the procedure. One day, our daughters will be adult women who have themselves been spared mutilation. And they will save their daughters.

The future looks promising for the girls.

*In December 2007, 1,000 Kenyan shillings was equivalent to about 10 euros. A nurse’s monthly salary was around 20,000 shillings, so the extra income from performing dozens of procedures was significant. After female genital mutilation became illegal, the fee for the procedure rose to as much as 2,000 shillings.

The nurse tells her story anonymously due to the sensitive nature of the subject. Solidaarisuus met her in February 2025 in Kisii, Kenya.