Until recently, 80-year-old Rukia Isaack was a fervent supporter of the Female Genital Cutting (FGC), which she inculcated across generation as a right of passage to womanhood for all the girls in her community. 

“I started circumcising girls at the age of 26 as an economic activity. During school holidays I would circumcise up-to 15 girls in a day,” says Rukia who has since abandoned the cut, all thanks to the house-to-house community conversations conducted by activist like Mumina Elena that is shifting how communities in Isiolo perceive and act to

wards FGC. 

Mumina now 34 years old was among the girls who passed through the hands of Rukia. She was 10 years old then. Today, she is dutifully turning the tide, educating her community on the dangers of FGC to save girls from the harrowing ordeal. 

And what a better way to cause change than starting with the woman who circumcised her! 

“Rukia is a perfect example that ending FGM is possible. I am glad she heed to my call to abandon the cut,” says Mumina. 

To Rukia, cutting girls was just like any other cultural ritual not knowing the harm she was causing the lives of many young girls some of them her daughters. In the occasional visits to the households, Mumina purposefully targeted to visit Rukia daily, educating her of the outlawed practice.  

This turned out to be the tipping point for Rukia-“I feared going to prison.”  Today; she is mobilizing the community against FGM and child marriages. During community dialogues, Rukia reminisces her experiences as a circumciser to persuade her community to abandon the cut. 

When we meet on a warm Tuesday afternoon, Mumina is facilitating a community dialogues in Kambi Ordha village where Rukia is among the community members listening keening- her exquisite face is framed by a brightly toned scarf wrapped around her head and neck. She cheerfully grins as her fruity voice invites women; men and the girls gathered to a rather subject that is so dear to her- one that must be spoken out loud! 

Months ago, Mumina and her co-activists received trainings from CREAW under the Wajibika Initiative supported by United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence against Women aimed at raising awareness on the dangers associated with FGM and other forms of gender based violence (GBV). It is through the trainings that she also learnt of the various ways to mobilize and rally communities against the gendered restrictions that limit that progress of girls in her community. 

“The trainings opened my eyes to the day to day realities of many girls. I knew my starting point would be to change the mindset of the elderly in the community hence the pictorial illustrations came in handy,” explains Mumina in reference to the SASA! poster discussions that guides her conversations with the community on GBV issues. 

Karu Ibrahim who lives in Kina Sub-County, 200 kilometers away from where Rukia resides has also downed her circumcision knife as activists continues to galvanize support from community elders, the police, men and women to end the cut. In Kina, the community conversations are also taking shape among the Borana community. 

“I learnt that FGC does not help girls in any way. Even though I lost my source of livelihood, I am proud to be a good example to other mothers,” narrates the 43-year-old Karu. 

“You know, FGC is something valued among the Boranas. It inculcates a sense of respect. Girls who are not cut are considered dirty,” she adds.   

Slowly, we are seeing communities waking up to the reality that girls too reserve the right to make decisions about their bodies and their voices cannot be undervalued anymore among the largely pastoralist community- Makai Mamo, a community activist in Kina tells us. 

Apart from the community conversations, the women activists under the auspices of the Wajibika project have also employed the use of radios to reach out to the masses.  

“We also hold talks with girls in schools to educate them about FGM and help them talk about their experiences,” says Makai as she explains that it was not easy for girls to speak about the taboo topic but after a series of mentorship talks, girls are now opening up and refusing to be cut.