The struggles of female athletes in Sebei region

On August 11, this year, Rebecca Cheptegei, Stella Chesang and Mercyline Chelangat took to the streets of Paris, France to represent Uganda in the Women’s Marathon at the Summer Olympics.

Cheptegei finished 44th on that day. Little did Ugandans know that they were cheering her on for the last time. On her return from the competitions, Cheptegei and her estranged boyfriend, Dickson Ndiema, were set to meet clan leaders to find a solution to a conflict that had arisen due to property she had amassed in the course of her career.

Within a few days, she was dead. She was doused in petrol and set ablaze by Ndiema. She succumbed to her wounds, and Ndiema, who had sustained injuries during the altercation, also died.

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Ever so often, Wilfred Ruto Mutanda, attends to his niece’s grave in Kapsiywo village, Muimet Parish, Bukwo sub-county, in Bukwo district. Cheptegei was laid to rest next to her grandparents.

As he gently beats down on the soil to remove large particles, it is clear that the pain of losing her still lingers.

“Did Ndiema really die? Or is he just running from the law? We neither saw his body, nor witnessed his burial. Our daughters need to have more education so that they can know their rights. They need to know how other cultures treat their women,” Mutanda laments.

In Uganda, the Sebei sub-region, which encompasses the districts of Kapchorwa, Bukwo, and Kween, is the cathedral of the country’s athletic sport. The region is also known for holding onto its cultural values and traditional norms, that some consider ‘barbaric’ in this modern age.

However, almost everyone in the region wants to be an athlete, according to Dr Justine Yapsoyekwo, the officer in charge of the National High Altitude Training Centre Teryet and headmistress of Teryet Secondary School in Kapchorwa District.

“During career guidance sessions, we found that most students opt for a sports career because the government motivates athletes and also awards them after competitions. The students see the Cheptegeis, Kiprotich and Chemutai as role models –they want to be like them,” she says.

READ: Cheptegei arson attack in Kenya highlights growing pattern of domestic violence

Dr Yapsoyekwo, who has a Phd in Education Administration and Management, has made it her mission to transform the lives of female athletes by encouraging them to pursue higher education.

“I saw a gap in as far as the education of our athletes is concerned. Engaging in sports is a short-term project so they need something sustainable. Duo career development is the way to go. You have heard of the gender-based violence that happens here. Because they are not highly educated, female athletes lack self-esteem,” she explains.

The academic adds that it is through education that the low self-esteem of female athletes can be boosted to help them positively cope with the challenges of a demanding culture.

Customs of the Sapiny

Throughout history, depending on the customs of the tribe, the position of girls and women has been that of a chattel which does not have a will of its own.

“In our society, girls and women are seen as people who cannot make it in life. Women are second-class citizens. In this culture, getting married means that whatever your husband does to you is correct, even if he beats you. We have not yet reached a level where our parents look at us as being beneficial to society,” Dr Yapsoyekwo says.

She adds that a divorced woman is considered a misfit in society. This means that abused women have to stay in toxic relationships so that they do not shame their clans.

“The parents will push the abused woman to return to her husband. I think our parents should change their mindset. They should be in a position to receive us when we report that we are in abusive relationships,” Dr Yapsoyekwo adds.

Cheptegei is the fourth female athlete in three years whose life was cut short by gender-based violence (GBV). On October 12, 2001, 27-year-old Edith Muthoni, a marathon runner, was shot in the head by her boyfriend after an argument.

A day later, Agnes Tirop lost her life after being stabbed by her husband in Kenya. She was 25, and was the world-record holder in the 10 kilometres women’s-only event.

Henry Kapkwamba Chesakit, an elder in Bukwo District, blames GBV on outdated cultural norms that allow men to get away with this kind of behaviour.

“Most women face GBV in silence because that is what their mothers taught them. Men here are superior to women and the latter must bend to their will. The matter has been worsened by an absence nowadays of proper marriages,” he says.

Ndiema was not Cheptegei’s first partner. She first built a life with the father of her two children. In other parts of the world, it is normal for relationships to break down and the couple moves on.

But, Chesakit says new partners are the main cause of GBV. “As elders, we do not know why Cheptegei divorced her first husband. Young women nowadays move around with many partners because that is the nature of life. However, they do not know what families these people come from. Then tomorrow, you find she has been murdered,” he says.

Chesakit advises female athletes to utilise the National High Altitude Training Centre Teryet instead of traveling to Kenya to train for competitions. He adds that because of the porous borders, many perpetrators of GBV escape to Kenya.

Fred Mark Chesang, the spokesperson for the Sebei police region, says GBV is rampant in the area, and can be psychological, economic or physical. He adds that on average, seven cases of GBV are registered every day.

“During harvest time, husbands want to budget alone for the proceeds from the farm. This is because they value themselves as supreme. Women athletes are economically empowered and are a beacon, attracting all sorts of men who want to force them into submission. This causes domestic violence,” he says.

Reports indicated that Cheptegei had reported her ordeal to the Kenyan police, Uganda Athletes Federation and clan leaders. She was not helped.

Chesang says the information is still under investigation so it would be premature for him to comment about it. However, the clan elders had summoned the couple. Cheptegei’s family believe her relationship woes contributed to her dismal performance in Paris.

Dr Yapsoyekwo believes tackling GBV needs a multi-sectorial approach. The mother of two boys was once in an abusive relationship that she had to leave for the sake of her life.

“We need champions who have gone through the problem and overcome it, to speak to our people. I was abused in my marriage but I consider it a blessing in disguise because after I left the marriage I embarked on my education journey. I thought all men are the same so going into another marriage was not an option for me,” she says.

Dr Yapsoyekwo is the ninth person from the Sebei community to hold a Phd. The problem of FGM Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) has also been blamed for culturally demeaning women. A rite of passage that is meant to transition a girl to womanhood is now fostering early marriages.

The government, through the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2010, outlawed the practice. However, the adherence to customs and cultural practices ensure that it is thriving.

“Nowadays, since the country has laws anyone who practices FGM will be charged in courts of law. However, the communities surrounding us, such as the Pokot practice FGM. At night, some women from Kenya snatch our girls. After three or four days, the girl is returned to her home, having been cut,” Chesakit says.

As a lone crusader, Chesakit has taken on the thankless task of traversing the border to talk to elders about abolishing the practice.

“Last week, I was in Kenya talking to the governor of Trans Nzoia requesting that we get together to stop FGM. However, we lack resources on the Ugandan side to aid in our transport. I fuel my motorcycle from my pocket. President Yoweri Museveni promised to facilitate all elders of the Sapiny to carry out sentisation but this is not happening,” he adds.

Other civil society organisations (CSOs) are also engaged in creating awareness of the dangers of FGM in the area. However, in some places, the vice continues unabated. For instance, to escape FGM, Dr Yapsoyekwo had to find refuge in Kampala City.

“When I completed my A-Level education at Nabumali High School in 2007, my father’s age set began compelling him to take me for FGM.
He was an educated man and he refused. Instead, he took me to Kampala where I stayed with relatives until I completed my university education,” she says.

By the time Dr Yapsoyekwo graduated, the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2010 was already in place, freeing her to return to the land of
her birth.

“Now that FGM is on the decline, more girls are enrolling in school. However, early marriages still exist. In Teryet, girls drop out of school in Primary Five once they begin menstruating or when their breasts begin developing. Parents negotiate and sell off their daughters,” she says.

It is not uncommon to find a young man with three underage wives. Dr Yapsoyekwo adds that most of her peers she started school with now have nine children each. Some of them are already grandmothers. “We are collaborating with CSOs to sensitise the community about the importance of having an educated daughter. The school has been brought closer to the community and there is no reason why girls should drop out,” she says.

Sensitising the community

The government has been called upon to sensitise the community on the value of women in society and on the need to have legally recognised marriages.

“Everyone should get married in church, traditionally or through civil unions and they must have documents to prove it. On Monday, I will be in Kenya, with the elders of Kalenjin, looking for our people who have run away because of the bad customs. We should abandon
those practices and adopt new ones which match the culture of other Ugandans,” Chesakit explains.

He adds that the elders are working with the police to ensure that anyone who crosses the border at night with a girl, or a girl crossing alone, is immediately arrested.

“Girls can do what men do and sometimes, do it better. I have broken the mold so other young women, especially female athletes, can too. That is why my graduation ceremony was aired live on TV – to motivate my people,” Dr Yapsoyekwo says.

Her achievements have encouraged parents to put away the practice of educating only boys while neglecting the girl child.

“Girls can also be breadwinners in the home. When you educate a girl and she gets married, she will stop depending on you. Instead, she will be in a position to provide for her family. So, as we do talent identification at this school, we also advise that education is the way to go,” she says.

Traditionally, a woman’s position in the Kalenjin culture is one of submissiveness. However, times have changed, and today, some women are breadwinners. Because of their financial success, female athletes have become a target for men in the Sebei sub-region, who want to control their money.