where? name the places... no vague generalizations
What is FGM, where does it happen and why?
FGM can cause physical and mental health problems that go on to affect women in later life, as Bishara Sheikh Hamo, from the
Borana Community in Kenya's Isiolo County explains.
In
Kenya, Bishara told the BBC FGM was carried out on her, together with four other girls. "I was blindfolded. Then she [the cutter] tied my hands behind my back. My legs were spread open and then they pinned down my labia."
"Then after a few minutes, I felt a sharp pain. I screamed, I yelled, but no-one could hear me. I tried to kick myself free, but a vice-like grip held my leg.
She says it was "pathetic. It's one of the most severe types of medical procedures, and so unhygienic. They used the same cutting tool on all of us girls".
The only pain relief available was a traditional remedy: "There was a hole in the ground, and they kept herbs in the hole. Then they tied my legs like a goat and rubbed the herbs on me. Then they said 'next girl, next girl,' and they took another girl..."
In pictures: Kenyan tribe fight back against rival raiders
Kenya has found oil in Turkana, but while politicians in the capital Nairobi haggle over who gets the revenue, the discovery has had little effect on the county so far. Where I visit, families drink from the same muddy pools as their livestock. There are few schools – children instead help herd the precious cows to nearby watering holes.
When it looks like an attack is imminent, some of the young men I witness seem more excited than dismayed by the prospect of a clash with those they fear are after their livestock. As part of their preparations, they slaughter a bull, then plunge their hands into its stomach to draw out the half-digested grass. They rub this over their heads and chests, part of their preparations to fight.
