Politicians Who Normalize FGM Must Be Stopped

Recently, Kisii Woman Representative Dorice Donya Aburi was caught on video linking Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) to “taming” girls’ behaviour. These were not harmless jokes or cultural remarks. They were dangerous signals to those who still believe a girl’s body is community property and her voice is something to be silenced.

By framing FGM as a way to control girls, the Woman Rep, intentional or not, has normalized a crime against women and girls the very people she was elected to safeguard.  A leader does not get to “test out” violence in public. A leader does not get to flirt with illegal acts and then hide behind “culture” when the public reacts. This is not about a single person; it is about accountability.

The Law is Not a Suggestion

Kenya made its choice long ago: FGM is a crime. The Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act (2011) is crystal clear. It doesn’t just ban the cut; it criminalizes anyone who helps, advises, or fails to report it.

When a public official speaks casually about cutting girls, especially during the December holidays when risks are highest, those words land in homes and clinics. They are interpreted as “permission.” They undermine the hard work of teachers, chiefs, and police, and they frighten girls into silence.

Dorice Aburi, must therefore do more than “clarify.” She must apologize without excuses and publicly commit to zero tolerance. This is not just good PR; it is her responsibility and constitutional duty.

Globally, UNICEF estimates that 230 million women are survivors, a reminder that complacency is not an option. Kenya has made progress, reducing prevalence to about 15%, but the practice is becoming more secretive.  But this progress is at risk from leaders who dont want to be accountable to the law and encourage or perpetuate the practice. FGM persists because it is dressed up as “tradition” or “discipline,” yet in truth it is a tool of control used to police a girl’s body and limit her future. The consequences are not theoretical but a lived nightmare, from severe bleeding, infections, and lifelong complications during childbirth, to girls being pushed into sudden “adulthood” and early marriage that forces them out of school, to psychological scars that endure for life.

 Its imperative to state that opposing FGM is not a “Western” idea. It is African law. Under the Maputo Protocol and the African Charter on the Rights of the Child, Kenya is obligated to protect girls from harmful traditions. Our own High Court affirmed this in 2021, ruling that the ban on FGM exists to protect human dignity. You cannot sit in Parliament, sworn to uphold the Constitution, while using language that legitimizes a banned practice. 

The path forward cannot end with socialmedia outrage; it demands real action. Hon. Aburi must issue a genuine apology, renounce her remarks, and commit to supporting safe alternative rites of passage in Kisii. The Anti‑FGM Board and the State Department for Gender have a responsibility to hold her accountable, while the Speaker should assess whether her language violates the code of conduct for State Officers. At the same time, security teams must heighten surveillance to protect girls in hotspot areas. Zero tolerance is not a slogan but a duty. Kenya cannot afford to play politics with children’s bodies. Our future depends on girls who are safe, whole, and free to thrive, and the standard must remain absolute. No leader should ever romanticize violence as discipline or disguise control as culture.

Read Also: FGM Is Still Illegal – Kenyan Court Rules