No girl should face a knife in the name of tradition.
FGM has no medical benefit and causes lasting harm. Ending it requires working with communities from the inside — not imposing change from the outside.
Female Genital Mutilation
Female genital mutilation is a violation of girls’ rights and has no medical justification. It involves the partial or total removal of external female genitalia or other injury for non-medical reasons. In Kenya, the practice has declined over time, but it remains deeply rooted in some communities and continues to harm girls physically, emotionally, and socially.
FGM is often justified as a cultural rite of passage or linked to marriageability, but its consequences are severe. It can cause pain, infection, complications in childbirth, trauma, and long-term health problems. It is also closely tied to other forms of violence, including child marriage and denial of education.
Progress is possible when communities lead the change. National efforts, education, local advocacy, and survivor-centered approaches have helped reduce prevalence, but prevention must continue, especially where girls remain at highest risk. Community-based action is essential because harmful norms are sustained locally and must be transformed locally.
Kenya Works Response
Kenya Works supports efforts to end FGM by working with communities to protect children, promote education, and challenge harmful social norms. We also support alternative rites of passage where appropriate, helping communities preserve meaningful traditions while replacing harm with education, celebration, and girls’ rights.
Communities can change. We have seen it. But it only happens when the people inside those communities decide together that this is not who they want to be.
— Kenya Works community advocate