The effectiveness of education institutions in curbing female genital mutilation in Amudat District.

Abstract

The study assessed the effectiveness of education institutions in curbing female genital mutilation taking the case of Kalas girl’ s primary school in Amudat town council Amudat district. The study was guided by the following objectives; To establish the ways in which Kalas primary school participates in the FGM prevention programme of Amudat, To Examine the Challenges faced by Kalas Primary school in curbing female genital mutilation and to identify the strategies the school has adopted to curb female genital mutilation. The researcher employed a case study research design which employed qualitative research approaches in the collection, presentation and data analysis. The population of the study comprised of the following categories of people as respondents who participated in the study; including teachers, School pupils, Parents/ guardians, N.G.O, Educational officer, C.L.O, Medical officer, L.C.1, L.C.2, and L.C.3.The sample size was 42 respondents. Simple random and purposive sampling techniques were employed in selecting the respondents that constituted the sample size of the research. The research findings confirmed that boarding schools provided better education, scholarships mostly to the victims of FGM by ZOA, BRAC and FAO among others. The boarding schools also provide security to the girls which protects them from the pressure to be circumcised and mutilated and they also help the victims of FGM to cope with the trauma. It is clear that there are challenges the school faces in curbing female genital mutilation included discrimination, stigmatization of victims, whereby the victims refuse to report feelings of exclusion, shame, and loss of honour and social position. It was also revealed that when the girls go for holidays, monitoring becomes difficult in addition to the long distances where the girls come from. It was strongly recommended that the local agencies working in the area should shift their focus from taking care of victims of FGM during circumcision seasons towards a broader programme including a clearly identified, locally acceptable programme, in order to foster acceptance of an alternative rite of passage. It is also recommended that schools should work closely with the stakeholders to give support to the girls in terms of materials like sanitary pads, school fees which may make them stay at home and end up getting mutilated.