Women from the Maasai community in Narok County publicly challenged claims that FGM has ended in their area, saying cutting remains widespread in remote villages despite a 2011 ban. Local health workers estimate prevalence as high as 80% in some communities, even as national survey data show a decline. Activists and shelters — supported by UN agencies — continue to rescue girls, but advocates say progress requires sustained education, community dialogue, anti-corruption measures and cross-border cooperation.
Despite 2011 Ban, Female Genital Mutilation Persists in Remote Maasai Communities
Martha, 18, who was 10 when two women, under pressure from their community, cut her at home in Narok East on her father's say-so (Tony KARUMBA)(Tony KARUMBA/AFP/AFP)
Maasai women in Narok County, southern Kenya, publicly challenged a community elder who claimed that female genital mutilation (FGM) had largely ended in their area — jeering when he insisted the practice was over. Local residents say otherwise: in remote villages, often hours from paved roads, cutting — the partial or total removal of the clitoris and/or inner labia presented as a rite of passage — remains entrenched.
High Local Prevalence Despite National Decline
A local nurse at a public meeting in Entasekera estimated that roughly 80 percent of girls in the area are still affected, even though Kenya made FGM illegal in 2011. Nationally, a 2022 government survey reported that the proportion of affected teenage girls fell from 29 percent in 1998 to 9 percent — a decline that masks significant regional variation and entrenched local practices.
Voices From The Community
“Why are you telling people that you have stopped, when we have teenage girls coming to the hospital who have been cut?” a woman asked at the meeting, where the women nodded emphatically and the men remained largely impassive. Some elders publicly deny the practice while privately acknowledging it: Maasai elder Moses Letuati told reporters he does not support FGM but admitted one of his daughters had been cut.
Shelters, Activists And Cross-Border Evasions
Activists like Patrick Ngigi, who runs the shelter Mission With A Vision, say demand for help is constant. The organisation — supported by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) — estimates it has rescued about 3,000 victims since 1997. The shelter uses CCTV and panic buttons to protect girls from relatives or elders seeking to remove them.
Authorities and campaigners report that some families circumvent enforcement by taking girls across the nearby Tanzanian border for cutting. Activists also accuse some local officials of accepting bribes to look the other way, a charge denied by at least one police officer who acknowledged the difficulty of policing FGM in remote areas.
Why The Practice Persists
Community pressure and beliefs that girls must be cut before marriage drive the practice. Families fear ostracism for uncut girls, while low literacy — roughly half of Narok's population is illiterate according to 2022 figures — and poverty complicate outreach. Even some activists admit difficult compromises: Ngigi said two of his daughters were cut to avoid conflict with his parents.
Health Consequences And Social Harm
Health workers warn that FGM contributes to severe complications including obstructed labour, fistulas and infections. Nurse Loise Nashipa described FGM as “a monster,” noting the bleeding, pain and unsanitary conditions under which most cutting is performed by elderly women. To avoid legal repercussions, many families opt for home births, increasing the risk of maternal and newborn complications — though officials say reliable data are limited.
Survivors' Stories
Martha, cut at age 10, recalled: “I was screaming and struggling.” Others spoke of curses and social exile: Cynthia Taruru said her father cursed her after she was rescued at 11 and that she had to pay a cow to lift the curse. Yet there are stories of resilience: Cecilia Nairuko, who ran from FGM and a forced marriage at 15, celebrated a graduation at the shelter and has trained as a psychologist, though she remains estranged from most of her family.
What Campaigners Say Is Needed
Activists call for sustained education, community dialogue and stronger enforcement that is free from corruption. They argue interventions must be local, culturally informed and supported by social services, shelters and cross-border cooperation to prevent clandestine circumcisions.
Bottom line: National statistics show progress, but in parts of Narok County and other regions the practice remains widespread — driven by cultural pressures, poverty and weak enforcement — with serious health and social consequences for girls and women.
