Closure of schools exposes more girls to FGM, says govt

Addressing journalists in Kampala on the sidelines of a meeting by civil society and trade unions yesterday,  Ms Mutuuzo said schools had provided a haven for young girls in communities that carry out the practice, including the Pokot and sections of the Sabiny, but now they have no refuge. 

Ms Mutuuzo said efforts that had seen the prevalence fall from 50 per cent to 0.3 in 2019 have been undermined. 

She said the communities are now practising all types of FGM, including infibulation.

“Female genital mutilation has increased, from 0.3 per cent where we had scored the best in Uganda and we were looking forward to completely having zero FGM but because of the lockdown, many children were taken back home, which became unsafe for them,” she said.

The minister said girls in Karamoja, mostly between eight and 13 years, have been commercialised with many being cut to be married off in exchange for dowry. 

Teenage pregnancies have also increased. Official statistics indicate that more than 17,000 pregnancies have been posted across the country since March last year.

The porous borders in districts such as Amudat have worsened the situation as some girls are sneaked and cut from neighbouring Kenya that has a higher prevalence of FGM.
Ms Mutuuzo said government is considering special interventions to address the trend.

“We are thinking about affirmative action for the girls who have got pregnant to get back to schools. We are also looking at gender-based shelters, where the survivors should be kept for a longer time because they had been closed and yet violence is still continuing to increase…and have a one stop centre where the legal services, psycho-social support, medical and counselling, rehabilitation and then plan for resettlement,” she said.

Government has also established a cross-border taskforce to end trafficking of girls into Kenya.

Plans are also underway to review the law banning FGM to address the impediments such as the requirement to adduce evidence of the body parts.

FGM was outlawed in Uganda in 2010 but some hotspots remain in communities that value the practices a rite of passage into womanhood. 

The law sentences culprits to 10 years, and life imprisonment in case the cut leads to death.

The meeting with civil society and trade unions aimed at advocating for the ratification of the International Labor Organisation Convention 190 against sexual harassment and gender violence in the world of work.

Advocates say the convention will create basis for punitive legal measures to curtail harassment and violence, which have increased during the pandemic.

Ms Eunice Nsiimwe, the executive director of Akina mama WaAfrika, said delays in tackling such vices should be addressed.

“Sexual harassment has become pervasive, is deeply entrenched and it is not being addressed. We need to ensure that our laws are punitive. The reason why there is so much harassment is that the legal and policy frame work have let us down,” she said.

A 2016 household survey shows that 85 percent of women have experienced harassment and gender-based violence against 15 percent among men.

Ms Mutuuzo said the ministry is finalising the discussions and will be submitted to Cabinet for approval, and later to Parliament for ratification.

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