Strike Ended and FGM Information (part 1)

(I split this blog into 2 parts cause I realized it was too long. Here is part 1)

Sasa?! Or rather, wazzup? J Time for an update and some information of FGM…

Update on Sarah here and future happenings:

Sipili is grand and things are going well. The school term is finishing up and we have one more full week before exams. I cant believe term 2 is so close to finishing up! Sarah and I hung out in Sipili this weekend and got a lot of relaxing in. We went for a long walk around town, visited the market, did some laundry and watched some chick flicks while eating fudge. I must admit, it was very nice and I’m ready for class now!

Next, a strike update: The strike ended at the end of last week however, it was not without confusion. The strike ended an hour after the government said all public primary schools were closed indefinitely. So, on Thursday and Friday some teachers went to school and the students stayed home and in other places, it was in reverse with students in school but no teachers. Friday they officially reopened the schools and on Monday everything was supposed to return back to normal. The government also decided to extend this term by one week and term three by one week to make up for 2 of the 3.5 weeks missed. The other 1.5 weeks teachers are supposed to just make-up by teaching more efficiently. So we’ll see if that happens. The poor Class 8 kids who have to take their big national exam which will say if they get to go to secondary school and if they score high enough-which school they can attend-that’s a lot of missed class time for them! Now at Sipili School for the Deaf, since our kiddos were here during the whole strike we’re only extending until Friday, the 9th (since we normally end on Wednesdays). We’ll start up again in 3-4 weeks after close. We only have 2 more full weeks left-so strange!

The topic I wanted to mainly discuss was about was an article I read in the paper a few days ago on an awful practice still done in many places in Africa and the Middle East: Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). I did some more research after reading the short article and I want to share what I learned. It’s a serious issue still going on in many countries and I feel that people need to be aware of what’s going on. This is some information I found on it…

A brief background/understanding of FGM that I gathered from Wikipedia, the Daily Nation newspaper, a National Geographic article, a BBC article and information I found on the UNICEF website.

FGM is practiced mainly in 28 countries across Africa, particularly Egypt and Ethiopia, and in parts of Asia and the Middle East. The WHO estimates that 140 million women and girls around the world have experienced it, including 101 million in Africa. FGM is typically carried out between four years old and puberty, although it may be conducted on younger infants and adults. It may take place in a hospital, but is usually performed without anesthesia by a traditional circumciser using a knife, razor or scissors. In communities that practice it, both women and men typically support it.

Miriam Martinelli and Jaume Enric Ollé-Goig write that reasons for the practice can be divided into five categories:

• Hygienic and aesthetic. The external female genitalia are considered dirty and "unsightly" and should be flat, rigid and dry
• Sociological. Identification with the cultural traditions, as a rite of passage of girls into womanhood, and for the maintenance of social cohesion
• Psychological. Reduction of sensitive tissue and thus to curb sexual pleasure in order to maintain chastity and virginity, to guarantee women's fidelity, and even to increase male sexual pleasure

• Myths and false beliefs. To enhance fertility and promote child survival

• Religious. FGM/C has been practiced in a range of communities with different religions: Christian, Muslim and animist. Muslim communities often have the false belief that FGM/C is related to teachings of the Islamic law. 

Strike Ended and FGM Information (part 2)

(I had to split it into 2 parts and I’m putting part 2 first-so read the part above this before J)

Kenyan History on FGM:

In Kenya in the 1920s and 1930s there was a lot of controversy on the issue. Top colonial folks tried to stop FGM however they only stirred things up and created a lot of anger within the people. Christian missionaries, according to Wikipedia, forbade people from practicing it for two reasons. Number one because of medical concerns and number two because they saw it as ‘highly sexualized’. The Kikuyu (the main ethnic group) did not appreciate it to say the least. One missionary woman was murdered in 1930 after speaking out against it. In Kenyan history, 1929-1931, this period is known as the female circumcision controversy. It is interesting to look at it from the Kenyan perspective. Jomo Kenyatta (Kenya’s 1^st Prime Minister) wrote in 1930 that “ The real argument lies not in the defense of the general surgical operation or its details, but in the understanding of a very important fact in the tribal psychology of the Kikuyu – namely, that this operation is still regarded as the essence of an institution which has enormous educational, social, moral and religious implications, quite apart from the operation itself. For the present it is impossible for a member of the tribe to imagine an initiation without clitoridoctomy. Therefore the ... abolition of the surgical element in this custom means ... the abolition of the whole institution” (wikipedia). Support was also coming from the women themselves. A missionary in Meru, Kenya said it was an entirely female affair where the women’s council saw the girls become women. They saw it as a necessary tradition in the rite of passage to becoming a woman.

In 1956, under pressure from the British, a council of male elders in Meru, Kenya, announced a ban on clitoridectomies. This was followed by more than 2,000 girls charged over the next 3 years with carrying out the procedure on each other with razor blades. This was done in defiance and in protest against the interference with women’s decisions for their own rituals. Since 1994, several countries have enacted legislation against FGM. President Moi of Kenya issued a decree against it in December of 2001.

In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimated in ’97 that 168,000 girls living there had undergone FGM or were at risk. Something I found really interesting was “Fauziya Kasinga, a 19-year-old member of the Tchamba-Kunsuntu tribe of Togo, was granted asylum in 1996 after leaving an arranged marriage to escape FGM; this set a precedent in US immigration law because it was the first time FGM was accepted as a form of persecution. Performing the procedure on anyone under the age of 18 became illegal the following year with the Federal Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act. The Transport for Female Genital Mutilation Act was passed in January 2013 and prohibits knowingly transporting a girl out of the country for the purpose of undergoing FGM. Khalid Adem, who had moved to Atlanta, Georgia, from Ethiopia, became the first person to be convicted in the US in an FGM case; he was sentenced to ten years in 2006 for having severed his two-year-old daughter's clitoris” (Wikipedia).

Here are some statistics on FGM and an update that I read in the Kenyan paper, The Daily Nation:

UNICEF said there was a dramatic reduction in cases of FGM in the 29 surveyed countries. Among the 29 surveyed countries, Kenya and Central African Republic have the steepest decline. It is now rare among the Kalenjin, Kikuyu and Meru tribes but at the same time, 95+% of Somali and Kisii girls are still being cut. “Practice is becoming less common in slightly more than half of the 29 countries studied” UNICEF reported. In Kenya and Tanzania, for example, women aged 45-49 are approximately three times more likely to have been cut than girls aged 15-19. They said the prevalence has dropped by about half in Benin, CAR, Iraq, Liberia and Nigeria but then there are countries where there is no discernible decline such as Gambia, Mali, Senegal, Sudan or Yemen. Somalia has the highest percentage in the world at 98%.

Since 2003 the United Nations has sponsored an International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation, held every 6 February.

If you want to read more on it, here are 3 good articles I found:

• National Geographic: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/07/130726-female-genital-mutilation-united-nations-unicef-report/
• BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-22186436
• Lastly, one from UNICEF: http://www.unicef.org/protection/57929_58002.html

It’s school time for me in 30 minutes in fact; I wish you all a very happy end of July and I leave you with a quote sent to me by another PCV that I really enjoy:

“I get up every morning determined to both change the world and have one hell of a time. Sometimes it makes planning my day difficult” –EB White

Kisses from Kenya,

Zabet

Sarah Is In Da House

Hello friends J

I am sitting here blasting ‘Stronger’ by Britney Spears for my sister who is taking her first cold shower in Kenya. It’s cracking us both up but she’s surviving it I think J

It’s so wonderful and different to have a visitor…my sister…here with me in Kenya!! She arrived here on Saturday after a long day of traveling. I met her in Nyahururu and we traveled back to Sipili together. We have been together for 4 days already and it’s fantastic! She looked up a lot of recipes to try and dinner is always delicious. Yesterday we went to school together and introduced her to all of my students. Sarah now has 65+ first names, last names and sign names to learn J They are all super pumped that she is here and that they have someone new to show all of their tricks and tell all of their stories to! We went running in the afternoon and I got the highest attendance in running since it was last made mandatory! Hey, whatever it takes J She also got her whole head in braids and practiced some of her gymnastics in the afternoon with them! Sarah is picking up sign language really quickly and they were teaching her new signs all day yesterday. It was an entertaining day and I know they’re all happy she’ll be here until the end of term, just like me!

Strike update:  KNUT teachers have now officially been on strike for 3 full weeks and we’re entering the 4^th. Sunday there was a meeting where everyone thought they would settle the agreement between KNUT and the government but it was not to be had. The government said they’d give them the money in 3 segments but KNUT doesn’t think they’ll follow through so they said no thanks, try again please. So we will just keep on waiting to see what happens this week-everyone cross your fingers that they find a happy ending to this all so everyone wins and it can get settled soon! J

Update on my life since the 4^th, I traveled to Maralal for the first time last weekend and it was awesome. It took me 5 hours to get there and 6 hours to get back to Sipili but it was worth it. I saw my first camels in Kenya as well as some zebras & antelopes. I also tasted the best ice cream I’ve had since arriving in Kenya!!! That was the first stop we made and I fell in love. It’s a youth business initiative and the ice cream is homemade and utterly delicious ;) I saw the sunrise, climbed a hill called ‘Big Rock’, hung out with 3 other PCVs living in the area and had a great 4^th of July picnic! Overall it was a short but fun trip and a great break in the strike.

The other exciting thing that happened recently was that my students and I finished painting the first coat of paint for all of the countries on our map!!!! I was literally jumping up and down and waving my hands around when we got it completed! Now we have to write all of the names of the countries in, paint a 2^nd coat on all of the countries, make a compass as well as paint ‘Africa’ on top of it. But at least when people walk past they can see all of the countries and it has taken shape. My favorite part of the map is that I had each student from Class 4, 5, 6 & 7 (minus 3 students) as well as 4 of the 6 vocational students paint at least one country. They looooved painting it and were so excited to learn which country was theirs to paint. The map is now theirs and they can take ownership of it. It will be here for a long time and it’s something they can look at, learn from and remember. I’m incredibly excited about it all!

Lastly, a sports update. I don’t know how much running related news you all read or how much running news has been in the paper recently but the front page of the Sports section yesterday was all about the World Youth Championships in Ukraine. And since I’m guessing most of you don’t hear too much news on athletics, here ya go! Kenya finished second overall at the Championships only to Jamaica! Jamaica got 8 medals but they won since they got more golds. Kenya scored a gold in the womens 3000, mens 800, womens steeplechase and mens 1500! Ethiopia was 3^rd with 8 medals and USA scored 5^th. Another cool part about the meet was that Biwott who won the 1500 broke the Championship record by .01 seconds at 3:36.77. Isaack had the record of 3:36.78 since 2001 when it was in Hungary and it was finally broken. I was very excited to read about all the track news in the paper and it always makes my day. Next month in the middle of August are the World Championships in Russia and so we’ll see what Kenya, Ethiopia and the USA bring to the table.

I hope you all are having a fantastic July, a sensational summer and you’re enjoying not going to school like me, oy.

Many many kisses from both Sarah and me J

Zabet

A Wonderful 4th of July to All!

Happpppy American Independence Day to everyone!!!! I hope everyone is having a fantastic day J I would just like to start this post off with a short snippet from our country director that was in the monthly newsletter that Peace Corps Kenya sends out.  Martha says “quality of life, by definition, must be founded on liberty and personal freedoms, as well as the simple pursuit of happiness.  We have all acquired that privileged birthright as citizens of the United States, inalienable rights that sometimes let us slip into an entitlement mode – taking our good fortune for granted. …The majority of people in the world do not enjoy a daily existence based on these three pillars:  the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. … When I did my Peace Corps service in rural Ecuador in the high Andes, widespread poverty ensured that personal liberties were scarcely evident.  People in my community hardly had any interest in free press and freedom of speech with such basic human rights such as potable water, health care and education eluding them. …As you celebrate this Independence Day, count yourselves among the fortunate ones.  You are here because you need not worry about these basic rights that should be the birthright of all humans on the planet.  You are living the dream:  presented with choices and pursuing your path. … Remember:  To whom much is given, much is expected.” I just thought that a really good note to remember today. We are so lucky to live in America and have so many privileges right from the start.

Ok, we are now officially 10 days into the teachers strike here in Kenya. It’s been a stressful week but thankfully it’s almost the weekend and I’m visiting friends! I’ve been buying the newspaper every day but there hasn’t been much new news related to the strike. On Monday or Tuesday the court ordered the teachers to go back to school. KUPPET (the union for secondary school teachers) ended their strike on Tuesday or Wednesday following court orders but KNUT (the primary teachers union) didn’t comply. They’re waiting it out to get the money they were told 16 years ago was theirs. It makes sense to me but it’s tough on the kids everywhere in Kenya and for their sake (and my sanity) I hope it ends well soon! We’ll see if anything happens tomorrow or over the weekend.

There wasn’t much to update about the strike but since I’ve been buying the paper and now have a lot more time to read it, I found two interesting articles I’d like to share with you wonderful people J

The paper recently has been filled to the brim with stuff about Obama’s trip to Africa and many Kenyans were upset when he didn’t put Kenya on his list of places to visit. However, they still followed his every move and gave us all the details everyday on where he was/where he was going next/what he said. He made a promise to Kenyans that he would visit before his 2^nd term was up and most seem to be excited about that. One thing he said that didn’t go over well among the leaders of Kenya was about something he said while in Senegal pertaining to gay rights. (The following quotes are all from ‘The Daily Nation’ newspaper). The article says “at least 10 Jubilee Coalition MPs have condemned Barack Obama for advocating for gay rights in Africa. The MPs said it was not only un-African but also unacceptable for the US President to call on African countries to give gay people equal rights when he was aware that African culture abhorred same sex relationships. The lawmakers said they would fight against any attempts by America and other Western countries to impose un-African culture on the continent”. Those first few lines alone threw me for a bit of a loop. I didn’t realize equal rights to everyone were ‘un-African’. Huh. But wait, it gets better. A Mr. Sudi, one of the lawmakers, was quoted asking “How can President Obama defend gay rights when he himself has two beautiful daughters who would wish to be happily married when they come of age”? That was followed up shortly with a question by a different lawmaker, Mr. Korir who asked “Who will marry our daughters if men start looking for fellow men as partners”? Right, because that’s how it works. Once Kenya is ok with gay rights, all of the men will immediately start looking for other men and all of the women will be left in the dust. The article ended with some more enlightening quotes. “A group of elders, while terming homosexuality un-African and evil, said it was wrong for Mr. Obama to rally Africa in supporting same-sex relationships. The group said there was no way Africans could support or accept gay relationships”. Then came the kicker at the end with a quote from the leader of the group saying “Indeed, we are very happy that Mr. Obama declined to visit Kenya after his tour of Senegal where he spoke about gay rights. He would have brought a ‘curse’ on our land. We condemn Mr. Obama’s sentiments that we in Africa accept gay behavior, the behavior is evil and wrong”.

A few days ago I read some articles online about DOMA begin defeated and Prop 8 and how things were moving along for gay marriages and rights in America. It’s exciting that many more states have recently changed their laws so marriages of love can happen for everyone because as we all know, love actually is…all around J I have many good friends who are gay and thinking about them not being able to marry the one they love is incredibly sad. I love getting updates on equality happenings from my wonderful friend Walky telling me about stuff going on in the USA! And then I buy the paper here and read things like this. I know that the laws are currently against gay rights in Kenya, and other African countries but hearing high people in the government say that gay rights are ‘un-African’ still took me by surprise. I also know that things seem to take longer to get here and sometimes I feel like we’re in the 80s or 90s with fads or things occurring, I mean I hear a loooot of Celine Dion, Shania Twain & Shaggy. It took a while for gay rights to get their foot in the door of the law in ‘Merica and I know that good things take time. I have faith that change will eventually happen. It’s a cultural perspective that I’m trying to understand.

Lastly, I leave you with something awesome to end this post J In the paper today I read about a bicycle called ‘XploreAir- Paravelo’. It’s a bike that can fly!!! Have you all heard of this? It can take off from anywhere and once in the sky it can go “25 mph for up to 3 hours and it’s propelled by a fan using a biofuel 249cc motor and parachute. Yannick Read and John Foden’s XploreAir X1 can reach altitudes of 4,000 ft but doesn’t require a special licence to operate.” How sweet is that?! A flying bike powered by biofuel! I want to see them make tandem bikes that fly next and then have a carpool lane in the sky! Hahaha and then maybe all we’d need is for them to create a flying VW Bug and I’d be set J

Many red, white & blue kisses to everyone,

Lizabeth