Govt, CSOs teams up to end FGM among urban refugees

Uganda government in close collaboration Action Aid Uganda and partners like United Nations population fund-UNFPA, has embarked on a campaign focused on ending the practice of female genital mutilation-FGM among urban refugees.

During a meeting with Somali and Sudan refugees in Mengo and Nateete on Friday, Joel Mandu, a legal officer with the Office of the President under the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), noted that the practice among the refugees, undermines the achievements that have been registered in the local communities especially in both Karamoja and Sebei sub regions where the practice has reduced drastically.

The meeting convened by Action Aid International Uganda (AAIU), the primary advocate against female genital mutilation (FGM), in collaboration with the KCCA and the Office of the President, with support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) aimed at sensitizing urban refugee communities among the dangers of FGM.

‘’Despite the initiatives undertaken by the Ugandan government, and various partners to eradicate FGM and other harmful cultural practices among the local ethnic groups in Sebei and Karamoja sub regions in the Eastern part of the country, it was realized that the prevalence of FGM continues to persist significantly among some refugees communities especially from Somalia, Sudan, and South Sudan’’. Mr. Mandu said.  Adding that the sensitization was overlong-due.

‘’Actually during the meeting, many of them have confessed that FGM is happening and the even know the places where it is conducted. Others said that some of them take their daughters back to Somalia for circumcision through Kenya borders, and after they bring them back,” Mr. Mandu said.

He noted this also points to unabated acts of human trafficking, which exposes the weakness on our borders.

AAIU, with financial support from UNFPA, is executing a project aimed at eradicating harmful practices within communities.

The initiative primarily targets female genital mutilation, as well as addressing issues related to child and early marriage, along with other forms of gender-based violence.

Under the new initiative, they are also collaborating with organizations such as African Humanitarian Action and the Norwegian Refugee Committee on the ground.

Sam Francis Ononge, the AAIU project officer focused on FGM, said that the initiative seeks to eradicate FGM within the urban refugee communities of Kampala specifically targeting individuals from Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan (both North and South), and Eritrea.

‘’The objective is also to raise awareness among the Somali and Sudanese communities in the regarding Uganda’s Anti-FGM Law of 2010 and the potential repercussions associated with the practice for the victims’’. Ononge said.

‘’The primary goal is to enhance awareness of the FGM legislation in Uganda by engaging in comprehensive information dissemination and conducting thorough research within these communities’’. He emphasized. Adding that during the week-long meeting they have discovered that Sudanese communities are also involved in the practice of FGM. This awareness campaign aims to engage community leaders and mainly youth in advocating for the abandonment of FGM.

In the course of meetings, various groups formed surveillance teams specifically tasked with overseeing FGM practices in their specific communities, thereby improving their capacity to report and monitor incidents efficiently.

Ononge stated that this practice is both outdated and unlawful, violating the current legislation in Uganda.

During the meeting, several participants disclosed that they had been forced to undergo FGM by their own parents.

They alleged that the practice continues to be conducted secretly in specific clinics in Kisenyi, a central suburb of down Kampala.

One of the key findings from the meeting indicated that FGM within the Somali community is performed in designated clinics and private settings, which complicates efforts to monitor the practice.

One of the victims, who requested to remain anonymous, revealed that she was subjected to forced mutilation at the age of nine and was subsequently married at fifteen by her parents.

At 25, she is currently a single mother of five. She recounted her decision to divorce a few years ago, following the pain she was experiencing during sexual intercourse and childbirth.

Other participants, particularly from the Sudanese refugee community in Uganda, openly denounced the troubling cultural practice of FGM, emphasizing its detrimental effects on the self-esteem of women in their community.

Emmanuella Iggale, a recognized Sudanese refugee, expressed that FGM promotes early marriages, as girls are frequently subjected to mutilation at the age of 12, thereby rendering them suitable for marriage.

“When a girl is to get her period, they make a celebration, that is like to inform the community that she’s actually now a woman and that basically opens room for suitors to come in and ask for her hand in marriage,” she adds.

“So, these suitors do not have to be of any specific age. They could be 30, 40 or 50 years, it doesn’t really matter, but as long as they come to your family, they come with a bride price, they come with cows, let’s say, like 100 or 80 cows, maybe and they come with a lot of money, and they give it to your family like for refugees in Kampala. And because these are really in need, they give the girl up for marriage, no matter the age,” she noted.

The practice, as she indicated, also heightens the risk of HIV and AIDS, as well as the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), due to the fact that individuals engaging in it are not tested, lack proper training, and utilize the same instruments.

In an effort to eradicate this practice, the Sudanese and Somali urban refugee communities have proposed various strategies, seeking support from Uganda and other partners to end the practice.

Salih Idris Adam, the chairman of the Sudanese Refugee community, expressed the desire to raise awareness within their communities regarding the FGM-Act 2010 in order to prevent potential arrests.

He asserted that this practice results in loss of life, as certain girls and women succumb to its consequences.