| dc.description.abstract | Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a traditional practice that involves the partial or total
removal of the external female genital organ for cultural reasons. This practice
condemned by the Kenyan government because of its negative effects on the girl child is
still persistence in the Kuria ethnic group. This study focused on the factors promoting
FGM practice amongst the girls in Kuria west sub-county. The specific objectives were;
to analyse the prevalence rate of FGM in Kuria West; to assess the social cultural factors
that contribute to the continuity of FGM practice in Kuria West sub-county, and to
examine the challenges in addressing FGM. The cultural lag theory of sociology by
William F. Ogburn was the underlying theoretical perspective of this study to explain the
phenomenon focusing explicitly on the fact that all parts of the culture do not change at
the same pace. Descriptive survey design was employed in this study. The study
population was 20435 girls in public schools and a sample size of 400 girls as per Glenn
Israel's method of determining sample was obtained through simple random sampling, 17
key informants were obtained through purposive sampling. Household questionnaires and
FGDs were used to obtain data from 400 children while interview schedules were used on
17 key informants. Quantitative data collected through closed ended questionnaires and
documents was analysed using descriptive statistics in form of percentages, frequencies,
counts and means. Qualitative data obtained was analysed on the on-going process as
themes and sub-themes emerge from the data. This study shows that FGM prevalence
rate in Kuria West was 84.5%, deep rooted culture, no right to make choices and lack of
knowledge on the negative effects of FGM contributed to the continuity of FGM,
Culture, confusing religious messages, low level of education, corrupt government
officials, find ambiguous laws were the challenges faced in the fight against FGM. The
study highlights the partnership that needs to be established between religious leaders,
educationalists, the government and non-governmental institutions to end this practice. In
this study, it is recommended that the community be involved in the fight against FGM to
reduce the prevalence rate, the government to put plans and programmes to empower the
Kuria community so that they adopt alternative rites of passage, and capacity build all the
key players in the fight against FGM to enable them overcome the challenges
The findings will be useful to the government and other stakeholders as a base to institute intervention programmes to protect girls from FGM | en_US |
