A woman from Baringo yesterday recalled how she almost died after being forced to undergo female genital mutilation (FGM). She bled to near death.
Jennifer Kibon, 54, from Tangulbei, Tiaty subcounty, said she was only 13 years in 1978, when her parents forced her to accompany seven others for the cut. She said;
I BLED EXCESSIVELY UNTIL I FAINTED. MY HELPERS LATER FORCED ME TO TAKE RAW COW BLOOD.
Kibon was spoke during the African Zero Tolerance to FGM celebrations in Loita, Narok.
She said she became sickly and emaciated and had to be isolated from the rest. “I had to stay alone far down the river for fears I may have been bewitched,” Kibon said.
She said after healing and “graduating”, she was beaten and married off to a man whom she didn’t love.
Kibon said she lost her baby during delivery. She said;
I UNDERWENT AN OPERATION BUT I LOST MY BABY.
Kibon separated from her husband in 2013 after he demanded their three daughters be circumcised before marrying them off.
I STOOD MY GROUND AND REFUSED TO HAVE MY CHILDREN UNDERGO TO PAIN OF THE KNIFE AS I HAD. HE CHASED ME AWAY AND MARRIED THREE MORE WOMEN, BUT I DECIDED TO RAISE MY CHILDREN ALONE.
She is among 2,000 women who formed the Tangubei Women Network. It is chaired by Mary Kuket.
Kuket condemned communities that still practice FGM in Baringo. She urged the government to take legal action against them.
