When those in positions of authority speak carelessly, the impact ripples far beyond the moment. When an elected leader describes a prohibited act as “discipline” or reduces it to “culture,” it isn’t an innocent remark.
It subtly redraws the boundaries of what a community considers acceptable. Such statements embolden harmful norms and make the work of teachers, chiefs, health professionals, and law‑enforcement officers far more difficult as they try to safeguard young girls.
Recent remarks by a Kenyan public figure suggesting that FGM “tames” girls should trouble every one of us. This moment is not about trending outrage; it is about the dangerous green light such statements give to those seeking justification for abuse.
If Kenya is truly committed to ending FGM, then its leaders must name it accurately: a violation of human rights, an act of violence, and a criminal offense. Leadership must be visible, principled, and actively engaged in stopping it.
Leadership as a Legal and Moral Obligation
A rights-based lens begins with a non-negotiable truth: girls are not vessels of culture. They are individuals with inherent rights. FGM strips away multiple protections, dignity, bodily autonomy, and freedom from harm among them.
Kenya’s law is crystal clear. The Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act places responsibility not only on the cutter but on anyone who facilitates, encourages, or fails to report the act.
When leaders speak about FGM as though it is a matter of opinion, they cross into a realm where legality and accountability converge. In 2021, the High Court reaffirmed that neither personal liberty nor cultural argument can be used to defend FGM.
Kenya’s commitments under the Maputo Protocol and the African Children’s Charter reinforce this stance. For elected officials, these are not academic principles, they are the very standards they are sworn to uphold.
The numbers offer both encouragement and caution. The 2022 KDHS shows a decline in FGM prevalence from 21% in 2014 to 15% in 2022. This improvement reflects years of coordinated effort: strong laws, political will, and the dedication of county and grassroot level structures. Yet the threat remains uneven and persistent.
The practice is also evolving. Medicalization is on the rise, and traditional practitioners continue to play a major role. This shift signals adaptation, not disappearance. With more than 230 million women and girls affected globally, Kenya’s gains matter, but they remain fragile. Complacency would be a profound mistake.
Elected leaders hold a level of influence that no NGO or activist can match, because they shape the social norms that either shut down the space for violence or quietly expand it, they control the county budgets that determine whether protection systems are strengthened or left to fail, and they direct the enforcement environment in which chiefs, police, and administrators operate.
When political leaders speak with ambiguity, they create room for impunity to grow; when they speak with clarity, they drive the momentum needed to protect communities and uphold the law.
A Practical Path Forward
Ending FGM demands more than declarations. It requires a firm, unambiguous stance. Leaders who make harmful statements must correct them publicly and reaffirm the law. Prevention must be treated as a core governance responsibility, not an optional advocacy issue.
Evidence from the Spotlight Initiative shows that integrated, society-wide approaches outperform isolated interventions.
National and county leaders must therefore strengthen coordination across justice systems, health services, and women’s rights movements. County Anti-FGM steering committees must be empowered to act, not merely convene.
Partnership with respected cultural authorities is equally essential. When traditional leaders champion protective by-laws, communities shift. Leaders must also invest in safe spaces, survivor support, and legal aid ensuring that protection is not symbolic but real, funded, and measurable.
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The Standard Kenya Must Demand
A nation cannot claim to uphold human rights while tolerating language that normalizes violence. Elected leaders are custodians of the law.
Before speaking, every public official should reflect on one question: Will my words shield a vulnerable girl, or will they expose her to greater danger?
Kenya must make it politically untenable to excuse FGM—and politically honorable to end it.
