Enough is enough; Sebei Women vow to end FGM

With the year 2019 ending and Ugandas ushering into 2020, many a people have made new year resolutions, such include the women in Sebei sub-region who have signed a petition seeking to end Female Genital Mutilation-FGM practice in their area

Enough is enough; Sebei Women vow to end FGM
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With the year 2019 ending and Ugandas ushering into 2020, many a people have made new year resolutions, such include the women in Sebei sub-region who have signed a petition seeking to end Female Genital Mutilation-FGM practice in their area.  

FGM has for many years been believed to preserve the virginity of girls and keep them pure until marriage. In Sebei region, it is also believed to keep girls faithful to their spouses because of lack of arousal during intercourse.    

However on Monday, women stood ground and signed the petition at Noah’s Ark Hotel in Kapchorwa town during a dialogue meeting on the Cross-Generational Alternative Rites of passage in opposition to FGM in Sebei and Karamoja Region where FGM is practiced.   

“Cognizant of the strides and gains made by various actors in the act to fight FGM, we as the women and girls of Eastern Uganda have constituted ourselves to collectively champion to end FGM we are aware of emerging trends and tricks used by communities to continue practising FGM such as performance of FGM ceremonies at night, cross border FGM, among others. We commit to engage community members, structures and institutions through community-based approaches in the campaign to change attitudes, behaviour and practice to end FGM” the petition reads.

The women also argue that there are still gaps in ending FGM in the districts which practice the act ranging from social norms, cross border, poor law enforcement, and low levels of literacy and awareness of the effects of FGM.

The petitioners further call for the political will to end the act, saying that the unwillingness by the politicians to end the act in the region is low and demonstrated through the little budgetary allocations for actions towards ending the FGM.

They also want the districts to allocate budgets towards the fight against FGM, the ministry of health to recognize reconstructive surgery as sexual reproductive rights and those women who underwent the FGM to be given psycho social support.

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