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 In the Tarime district of Mara region, bordering Kenya, the number
of girls who fled these illegal rituals at the end of last year
doubled to 634 from 312 the year before, according to girls' rights
campaigners.
Teenager Magdalena Lesedi, who narrowly escaped the knife when she
ran away during a cutting ceremony at her home village in December,
was horrified by what she saw.
"I was very shocked to see blood running down the leg of one of my
friends who had just been cut. I couldn't bear it, I had to run
away," she told Thomson Reuters Foundation.
The 16-year-old said her grandmother had insisted she undergo the
ancient ritual to bring her family respect within their community.
"I did not have any idea how it felt to be circumcised until I saw
my friend who was very visibly in deep pain," she said.
Lesedi is among thousands of girls who have sought refuge in recent
years at a shelter in the village of Masanga which is fighting to
end female genital mutilation (FGM) in Tarime, one of the regions
where the practice remains most prevalent.
The refuge is guarded by police to prevent anyone snatching the
girls away to mutilate them.
Up to 7.9 million girls and women in Tanzania are thought to have
undergone FGM, which involves the removal of the clitoris and
external genitalia. In Tarime, girls are usually cut between the
ages of 12 and 17 in initiations performed by circumcisers known as
ngariba, often using unclean knives and blades.
The girl is not expected to show any sign of fear throughout the
excruciatingly painful ritual which happens amid cheers and
ululating from the watching crowd.
Communities who support the practice say it purifies the girl and is
a prerequisite for marriage. Kurya clan elders say the cutting is
done to curb women's sexual desire so that they do not stray when
their husbands are away. Many Kurya men work as fishermen on Lake
Victoria.
DIRTY BLADES
Although Tanzania made FGM illegal in 1998 the law is poorly
enforced. FGM continues to be practiced by many tribes putting
thousands of girls at risk every year.
Internationally condemned as a gross rights abuse, FGM causes a host
of serious physical and psychological problems. In extreme cases
girls may bleed to death or die from infections, especially if
blades are dirty and used on many girls.
Apart from providing a home, the Termination of Female Genital
Mutilation (TFGM) center in Masanga teaches girls about reproductive
health, the harmful effects of cutting and children's rights.
"Some of the girls are in a terrible state of mental distress when
they come. We sit with them and try to give them psychological
counseling and make them feel good," said the center's director
Sister Germaine Baibika.
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Baibika said some girls are even brought to the refuge in secret by
their parents to avoid pressure from clan elders and grandmothers
during the annual cutting season which runs from November to
December.
The center, which is supported by the Children's Dignity Forum
charity and the United Nations Population Fund, also promotes an
alternative rite of passage ceremony to replace FGM.
The colorful occasions attract huge numbers from across the Kurya
community, including traditional elders. The girls dress up and
celebrate with singing and dancing.
As for her future, Lesedi doesn't think the fact she has refused to
be cut will hurt her marriage prospects because she says there is
growing recognition that FGM is bad.
Women's rights groups say the number of girls being cut is falling
every year. "I think people realize FGM brings nothing other than
pain and suffering to innocent girls," said Valerie Msoka, head of
women's rights organization Tamwa.
However campaigners say it is not enough to show communities that
FGM is harmful. The ngariba earn money from each girl they cut so
they need to have an alternative income source or they will not lay
down their knives. The Masanga center is training them in skills
such as batik-making.
Maria Wekwe, a 51-year-old grandmother, said she had secretly cut
hundreds of girls during nearly 20 years as a ngariba, charging
parents 15,000 shillings ($8) for each girl and cutting at least 32
girls a season.
"I inherited this job from my grandmother, but I have decided to
wash my hands of it because I realize that I have caused a lot of
pain and suffering to so many people," she said.
(Editing by Emma Batha)
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