The Effectiveness of Kenyan Law and Policy in Curbing Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) Meru District

ABSTRACT

The study was about the effectiveness of Kenyan law and policy in curbing the practice of FGM in Kenyan communitieo. my main focus being in Meru district. Female genital mutilation is a cultural practice aimed at signifying a girl's entry into womanhood and any fmm of rejection is viewed as subordinating culture. It is believed to prevent promiscuity in marriages and promote easy child bearing. Those who do not circumcise are believed to be of immoral character and adopting western culture. The researcher used questionnaire to gather the required data during the study and a series of key interviews particularly on the effect if a law is passed against the cultural practice. The questionnaires were filled up by the respondents of the respective towns in the district who came up with different means of promoting the rite of passage without having to cany out Female Genital Mutilation in women. From the findings, the culture can be eliminated if the conununities are made aware of the risks of the practice and better ways of initiating the girl child into a woman.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION ................................................................................................................... i

APPROVAL ......................................................................................................................... ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ................................................................................................... iii

ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................................. iv

ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................................... v

LIST OF STATUTES ......................................................................................................... vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................... vii

CHAPTER ONE .................................................................................................................... I

1.0 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY ............................................................................... !

1.1.1 Rationale for FGM ........................................................................................................ 5

1.1.2 Prevalence and type ...................................................................................................... 6

1.1.3 Legal status of FGM in Kenya ..................................................................................... 7

1.1.4 FGM in relation to culture ............................................................................................ 8

1.1 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM ............................................................................ 10

1.2 THE PURPOSE OF THE STUDY ................................................................................ IO

1.3 THE RESEARCH OBJECTIVES ................................................................................. !!

1.3 .I General Objectives ..................................................................................................... !!

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS ........................................................................................... !!

1.5 HYPOTHESIS ............................................................................................................... 12

1.6 SCOPE OF STUDY ...................................................................................................... 12

1.7 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY .............................................................................. 13

1.8 DEFINITION OF CONCEPTS ..................................................................................... l4

1.9 CHAPTER BREAKDOWN .......................................................................................... 15

VII

CHAPTER TW0 ................................................................................................................. 16

LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................................... 16

2.0 FGM AS A CULTURE AND TRADITION ................................................................. 16

2.1 FGM AND GENDER DISCRIMINATION ............................................................... 19

2.2 FGM AND HEALTH RIGHTS ............................................................................... : .... 21

2.3 FGM AND LEGISLATION ......................................................................................... 24

CHAPTER THREE ............................................................................................................. 29

3.0 METHODOLOGY AND SCOPE OF WORK .............................................................. 29

3.1 RESEARCH DESIGN ................................................................................................... 30

3.2 SAMPLING SIZE .... ~ ............................................................................................... ; .... 32

3.3 DATA ANALYSIS ....................................................................................................... 33

3.4 RESEARCH APPROVAL ............................................................................................ 34

3.5 LIMITATIONS IN THE STUDY ................................................................................. 34

CHAPTER FOUR ............................................................................................................... 35

4.0 FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION IS A VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS ...... 35

4.1 HUMAN RIGHTS, LEGAL AND PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY ISSUES .. 40

4.1.1 Human rights ............................................................................................................. .40

4.1.2 Professional responsibility ......................................................................................... .41

4.2 COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS ..................................................................................... .44

4.2.1 The Kenyan legal framework .................................................................................... .44

4.2.2 The UK legal framework ........................................................................................... .48

CHAPTER FIVE ................................................................................................................. 54

5.0 OBSERVATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS .................................................................. 54

5.1 RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................................... 57

5.2 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................ , ................ 59

REFERENCE ...................................................................................................................... 61