Simon Cumbers

On my first morning in Londiani, I met Rebecca Mallel, a facilitator of the Alternative  Rite of Passage. Let me explain. The Alternative Rite of passage marks the time of when a girl becomes a woman, traditionally this was done in seclusion with a big ceremony and involves cutting of the genital area. The alternative is about training and education, the girls learn the same cultural traditions, information about being a woman, body changes, family life and it helps to build their self esteem, but it does it all without the cutting so there is no damage to the female.

Rebecca, one of the many formidable people I met, really set the tone for the rest of my week in Kenya. She spoke openly and passionately to me about Female circumcision. She spoke about the risks involved and the need to abandon the traditional practice.

I visited Esther Korir in her own home. Esther is a school teacher. She knows the value of education, as do many other men and women I spoke to. When a girl is circumcised, she leaves school and is deemed ready for marriage. Esther spoke at length to me about the stages of the traditional rite. Her husband, an avid listener to worldwide radio, pointed out to me that Western media doesn’t always get it right about Africa. That kept me on my toes!

Luli Habbiba, a determined community worker had walked a long distance to speak to me. In the radio documentary Luli outlines the origins of the practice. Anna Mainek, Friends of Londiani’s director in Kenya describes the role of the circumciser in the village. All these women and many more (men and women) spoke to me about an extremely sensitive issue. I wish I could have included them all in the documentary. I met a village Elder who bravely went against the customs of his village and has come out and said NO to circumcision.

This is a story you will not have heard before. There are no gory details. It’s a positive story. I had heard and read a lot about Female Circumcision but I wanted to hear the Kenyan people’s perspectives. And I wanted to meet the people who are trying to stop it in their communities and replace it with the Alternative rite of passage. Please listen to the radio documentary. It’s called New Beginnings, challenge it, question it, but please listen to it.

The documentary was first broadcast on Ros FM Community Radio in December 2011, and an edited version was broadcasted, as part of ‘The Curious Ear’ on RTÉ Radio 1 on the 11th February 2012. The full documentary is available as a podcast at http://www.rte.ie/radio/podcast/ or at www.soundcloud.com. It’s called ‘New Beginnings’.