Stakeholders in the fight against Female Genital Mutilation have embraced art as a way of scaling down the retrogre4ssive practice that is deeply rooted among the minority Kuria Community.
Under the auspice dubbed Arts For Child Protection, the activists drawn from Safe Engage Foundation, a community-based organization in Kuria West are employing arts to end the triple threat amongst vulnerable girls.
The event that was organized in Kehancha town brought on board gender sector players that involved the provincial administration, the clergy as well as other activists.
Speaking during the event, Kuria West Sub County Commissioner Mr Andrew Mwiti noted that the FGM prevalence in the area had “drastically reduced” following the introduction of Arts which has seen the majority of learners throng the facility during holidays.
“The move has seen us scale down FGM cases by quite a considerable margin. Apart from cracking down on perpetrators, the move to infuse art as a learning mode has also helped in nurturing talents among young learners,” Mr Mwiti Noted.
According to the administrator, only 12 cases have so far been recorded with the majority of the victims being rescued without undergoing the cut following tight surveillance.
“The girls are taught ways of reporting cases of gender-based violence as well harmful practices whenever they visit the safe spaces. This has bolstered our efforts in combatting the vice,” he said.
His sentiments were shared by Ms Christine Alphons, the director at Safe Engage Foundation who reiterated the need for parents to “have a changed attitude when approaching the FGM issue.”
“We have recorded a positive streak from children visiting our facility not only for moral support but also to learn new skills. So far we are working closely with over 300 children during this holiday although sometimes the number is overwhelming,” she said while lauding the parents for “entrusting them with the children.
According to Mrs Alphons, the move to infuse arts in the FGM fight has yielded immense fruits as the beneficiaries often end up cascading the teachings to their peers.
“They (children) often end up coming with their peers for counselling sessions and general learning. This has seen us make a positive stride not only in the FGM fight but general cases of GBV,” she said.
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