Wednesday 3 December 2014

Kadaga to men: Do not marry circumcised women


Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga being decorated by a Karimojong woman during celebrations to mark the Tepeth Cultural Day in Moroto District on Monday. Ms Kadaga advised men to shun women who have gone through Female Genital Mutilation, describing them as burdening women who will not help transform the society

Moroto.
 The Speaker of Parliament, Ms Rebecca Kadaga, has advised men to shun marrying women who went through Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), describing them as ‘burdening women’ who will not help transform the society.
The Speaker made the call on Monday during celebrations to mark the Tepeth Cultural Day, which is against FGM. The ceremony was organised by United Nations Population Fund and other development partners.
“A woman who is circumcised is no longer a valuable woman. Leave those who went through FGM and get normal women who can create a good society,” she said.
The World Health Organisation defines Female Genital Mutilation as “the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia for cultural and other non-therapeutic reasons.”
This practice, also known as “female circumcision, or “female genital cutting,” is deeply rooted in many traditional cultures, and in Africa, it often serves as a rite of passage or as preparation for marriage.
In Uganda, the cultural ritual is mainly practiced in eastern Uganda among three tribes, including the Pokot, Sabiny and Tepeth, mainly in the districts of Kapchorwa, Kween and Bukwo.
Ms Kadaga, who was accompanied by State minister of Gender Rukia Nakadama, both signed a commitment to end FGM in Uganda.
She also warned parents in the region to stop forcing their young girls into marriage and appealed to them to send their children to school.
However, Ms Grace Nachap, one of the former FGM surgeons appealed to government to support the group of surgeons who have denounced the practice.
“Cutting women and girls had been our main source of income, so we need government to help us,” she said.

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