Volume 13, Issue 1, January 2015, Pages 186–192
Geofrey Towett1, Peter Gutwa Oino2, Gatobu Caroline3, and Pauline Tarkwen4
1 Coordinator, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Kisii University (Eldoret Campus), P.O. Box, 6434-30100, Eldoret, Kenya
2 Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Egerton University, Department of Peace, Security and Social Studies, Egerton (Njoro), Kenya
3 Coordinator, Faculty of Health Sciences, Kisii University (Eldoret Campus), P.O. Box, 6434-30100, Eldoret, Kenya
4 Coordinator, Diploma and Certificate Programmes, Kisii University (Eldoret Campus), Faculty of Health Sciences, P.O. Box, 6434-30100, Kenya
Original language: English
Copyright © 2015 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
The Female Genital Cut (FGC) is a widespread practice in a significant number of communities in Kenya such as Somali (97%), Kisii (96%), Kuria (96%) and the Maasai (93%), but relatively low among the Kikuyu, Kamba and Turkana. The practice is associated with short-term and long-term health effects including pain, bleeding, infections, and in extreme cases, death of the initiates. This study focused on socio-cultural factors influencing the practice of FGC among the Maasai community and adopted a cross-sectional research design, which employed a mixed method approach to generate both quantitative and qualitative data. Quantitative data was obtained from a randomly selected sample of 200 respondents, while quantitative data was generated from Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) as well as key informants (KI) interviews. The study found out that the Maasai (71% of the respondents) considered FGC as a cultural right whose main value is a rite of passage from girlhood to womanhood, enhancing marriage-ability, and acted as a rite of passage to adulthood. FGC was also considered as a traditional demand, enhanced easy childbirth, and reduced promiscuity among girls and women in the Maasai community. The authors conclude that FGC continues to persist in the Maasai community despite various effort put to eradicate it by different stakeholders. This is because of socio-cultural issues associated with it, which by far outweighs other risks associated with the 'cut'. For intervention programmes to succeed, the authors recommend that efforts should focus on targeting custodians of culture among the Maasai community who are largely the elderly women. This will create an opportunity for change agents to device appropriate strategies to curb the practice in the Maasai community. The devised strategies will inform various Anti-FGC interventions not only in the Maasai community, but also among other practicing communities in Kenya.
Author Keywords: Female Genital Cut, Socio-cultural, Circumcision, Excision, Kenya.
Geofrey Towett1, Peter Gutwa Oino2, Gatobu Caroline3, and Pauline Tarkwen4
1 Coordinator, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Kisii University (Eldoret Campus), P.O. Box, 6434-30100, Eldoret, Kenya
2 Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Egerton University, Department of Peace, Security and Social Studies, Egerton (Njoro), Kenya
3 Coordinator, Faculty of Health Sciences, Kisii University (Eldoret Campus), P.O. Box, 6434-30100, Eldoret, Kenya
4 Coordinator, Diploma and Certificate Programmes, Kisii University (Eldoret Campus), Faculty of Health Sciences, P.O. Box, 6434-30100, Kenya
Original language: English
Copyright © 2015 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
The Female Genital Cut (FGC) is a widespread practice in a significant number of communities in Kenya such as Somali (97%), Kisii (96%), Kuria (96%) and the Maasai (93%), but relatively low among the Kikuyu, Kamba and Turkana. The practice is associated with short-term and long-term health effects including pain, bleeding, infections, and in extreme cases, death of the initiates. This study focused on socio-cultural factors influencing the practice of FGC among the Maasai community and adopted a cross-sectional research design, which employed a mixed method approach to generate both quantitative and qualitative data. Quantitative data was obtained from a randomly selected sample of 200 respondents, while quantitative data was generated from Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) as well as key informants (KI) interviews. The study found out that the Maasai (71% of the respondents) considered FGC as a cultural right whose main value is a rite of passage from girlhood to womanhood, enhancing marriage-ability, and acted as a rite of passage to adulthood. FGC was also considered as a traditional demand, enhanced easy childbirth, and reduced promiscuity among girls and women in the Maasai community. The authors conclude that FGC continues to persist in the Maasai community despite various effort put to eradicate it by different stakeholders. This is because of socio-cultural issues associated with it, which by far outweighs other risks associated with the 'cut'. For intervention programmes to succeed, the authors recommend that efforts should focus on targeting custodians of culture among the Maasai community who are largely the elderly women. This will create an opportunity for change agents to device appropriate strategies to curb the practice in the Maasai community. The devised strategies will inform various Anti-FGC interventions not only in the Maasai community, but also among other practicing communities in Kenya.
Author Keywords: Female Genital Cut, Socio-cultural, Circumcision, Excision, Kenya.
How to Cite this Article
Geofrey Towett, Peter Gutwa Oino, Gatobu Caroline, and Pauline Tarkwen, “Socio-Cultural Factors Influencing the Practice of Female Genital Cut among the Maasai Community of Kajiado Central Sub-County, Kenya,” International Journal of Innovation and Scientific Research, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 186–192, January 2015.
