The Horror Of Female Mutilation In Kenya

Female Mutilation is a big crime to womanhood but cultural belief  think otherwise, year in,year out,Girls are being done these barbaric act in respect to their tribe,these pictures show frightened girls lined up before villagers in Kenya to be circumcised even though the brutal practice is now illegal in the country.

But in many African tribes, traditions are more important than laws and circumcision is considered a rite of passage that marks their transition into womanhood so they can marry.  

Draped in animal skin and covered in white paint, the girls squat over large stones in the remote village after being circumcised - a life-threatening custom banned in the country three years ago.

More than a quarter of Kenyan women have undergone the ordeal, despite government efforts to end the practice in the East African country.

'It's a tradition that has been happening forever,' the father of one of the girls, who asked not to be named fearing reprisal from the authorities, told Reuters from the isolated Pokot settlement some 80km from the town of Marigat.

'The girls are circumcised to get married. It's a girl's transition into womanhood,' he said.

Wrapped in bright coloured shawls, the girls spent the night huddled around a fire in a thatched-roof house as local women gathered to sing and dance in support. 

One woman fell into a trance after sipping a local wine. 

Circumcision is heavily practiced among the Pokot community, and one of the girls' mothers believes it is a sign of strength.

'The pain will make her strong. She can show the rest of the community that she can endure it,' the woman said after having her daughter circumcised by a Pokot elder donning a beaded neck collar and large brass earrings.'I'm proud of my daughter for doing this,' she said. 

Source: DailyMail