Kenya: This Is FGM - a Little Sand and Egg to Stop the Bleeding

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) remains ingrained in the traditions of most communities in Northern Kenya. Women from this part of the country lament that the tradition has caused them a lot of pain and scars.

Salma Mohammed, not her real name, takes us through the process.

She says the cut, which targets girls aged five years, involves the cutting of the female genital parts - also known as Gudniin.

"An arrangement is done between the girl's mother and the midwife who would carry out the circumcision," she says.

The cut happens inside the girl's home where no male figure is present, including the father, is allowed.

"During the whole time, the girl doesn't know what is happening. She is only informed that it is her transformation moment to adulthood," says Ms Mohammed.

Medical equipment

The women then assemble inside the house and the girl is tied with a rope from her waist going down to her toes.

"There is nothing like medical equipment. We use a razor blade or small knife and an egg to conduct the cut," she says.

The girl bleeds after the cut, but she is not taken to hospital. The egg is beaten and then applied on the wound to help stop the bleeding.

"A small amount of sand is also spilled on the wound until the bleeding stops. We cannot take her to any hospital since it is against the tradition. Some girls come out strongly while others, unfortunately, die as a result of excessive bleeding," says Ms Mohammed.

Once the circumciser is done, says Ms Mohammed, she updates the girl's father - he has been waiting for feedback outside the house, all along.

A village elder who asked for anonymity, explains that their tradition dictates that a girl must undergo the cut.

"We believe if she does not experience the transformation stage, her husband will chase her back home when she gets married; and this has happened before," he says, noting that those who travel overseas also practise the traditional cut.

"It is difficult to end the tradition. Even if you are in America and you are Somali, you have to undergo the FGM," he adds.

FGM takes place mostly during school holidays to give the girls time to recover.

Birth canal

Fatima Ali (not her real name), however, says she could not have accepted to undergo the cut if it was her choice.

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Two years down the line, she adds, memories of her trying to deliver her first child are still fresh.

"I struggled to give birth normally. The traditional birth attendant could not deliver my baby due to the narrowed birth canal brought about by circumcision that I went through as a child," she says.

She says, it was either her survival or that of her child.

"I fought with my mother as I battled the labour pains. I kept blaming her for allowing me to be cut, but it was too late. The doctor insisted that I go through the surgical procedure - caesarean birth," she says.

A caesarean birth is also used to safely deliver a baby when the vaginal delivery is not an option.

Pointing at her recovery scars, Ms Ali says she regrets being part of this tradition, noting that it did not give her a chance to bond well with her new-born.

Kassim Abdi, a village elder says, such traditions are difficult to stop.

"People do not even want to freely talk about FGM, how will they put a stop to it? They believe it is a tradition that pleases the ancestors," he says.