Alternative Rites of Passage
Ending female genital mutilation or cutting (FGM/C) in Kajiado County, Kenya, through alternative rites of passage (ARP) and improved access to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH).
An alternative for girls at risk of FGM/C
In Kajiado County, Kenya, female genital mutilation or cutting (FGM/C) is commonly practised as a rite of passage for girls as they transition into womanhood.
FGM/C is a form of child abuse, violence against women and girls and a violation of human rights. This practice leads to serious physical and psychological harm. The negative effects of FGM/C limit girls' ability to determine their own futures.
Girls who have undergone FGM/C are generally considered ready for marriage. After marriage, they will often get pregnant while still children themselves - forcing them to drop out of school and changing the course of their lives forever.
Amref's work to end FGM/C
Amref Health Africa has been working with Maasai communities in Kajiado for more than a decade to establish Alternative Rites of Passage (ARP) that still celebrate the cultural milestone of entering adulthood, without causing girls physical or emotional harm.
Kajiado has a largely pastoralist, Maasai community. FGM/C prevalence is at 78% - among the highest in Kenya. Amref has worked with Kajiado's communities to end FGM/C since 2009, and in 2020, with generous support from The Rabelais Trust, we commenced a new project: the Alternative Rites of Passage. This combines community-led interventions to improve water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure and access, with community-led discussions that encourage communities to abandon the practice of FGM/C for alternative rites of passage (ARP).
The Alternative Rites of Passage programme: phases 1 and 2
Between 2020 and 2023, the integrated ARP-WASH model project reached 23,988 people including 95 community health workers (CHWs) trained on Amref’s LEAP digital learning tool to keep girls and their communities safe and healthy.
The project was implemented through the COVID-19 pandemic in this phase, and had to adapt to rapidly changing circumstances, regulations and government guidance on community gathering.
In spite of those challenges, the project saw significant positive change in Kajiado.
- 71 local administrators were sensitised on FGM/C
- 1,250 adolescent girls saved from FGM/C, teenage pregnancy and child, early and forced marriage
- 7,000 people reached with safe water and hygiene services
- School outreach sessions supported 1,755 girls and boys to understand their sexual and reproductive health and rights and break the stigma associated with FGM/C
- To reduce the spread of COVID-19 and improve WASH practices, one water source and 60 handwashing stations were installed, benefitting an estimated 9,084 people across schools, health facilities and communal water points.
In July 2021, the first community-led Alternative Rites of Passage (CL-ARP) training and ceremony was held in Meto village, enabling 300 adolescent girls to graduate into womanhood without the cut.
A community-owned approach is being implemented to maintain the water sources and ensure they remain functional beyond the end of the project.
CL-ARP Impact Study Findings
Amref Health Africa commissioned an independent impact evaluation to establish the impact of CL-ARP in Kajiado County on FGM/C, Education, Child Early and Forced Marriage (CEFM) and Teenage Pregnancy over a 10 year period. It found that:
A new phase: ARPWASH
In 2023, we worked with The Rabelais Trust to extend our partnership for a third phase of the Community-Led Alternative Rites of Passage and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene programme in Kajiado County, Kenya.
The ongoing severe drought has had a devastating effect on communities in Kajiado. Water sources are drying up, leading to livestock deaths, and increased pressure on women and girls to walk long distances to fetch water from other sources meaning they miss school and are at greater risk of sexual violence.
Amid these pressures on families and communities, girls bear the highest burden; they are often married off early to fetch a dowry to replace losses due to drought. In traditional Maasai social culture, to get married, they must first undergo FGM/C.
Phase 3 of the ARP/WASH programme aims to deepen the support to communities in seven villages in Kajiado towards the end FGM/C vision.
This includes new drought-resistant WASH interventions such as sand dams, promotion of the community-led Alternative Rites of Passage ceremony and integrated sexual and reproductive health and rights information and education.
Core programme activities include:
- Community dialogues involving cultural/religious leaders, traditional birth attendants, circumcised women, and young people;
- Training community health workers on the LEAP digital learning platform;
- Constructing drought-resistant water infrastructure including sand dams, solar-powered water sources;
- Training and supporting women’s groups of former cutters on alternative sources of income;
- Conducting school outreach programmes to establish school health clubs to create awareness of WASH, SRHR and ARP;
- Support and training of girls through the ARP programme and ceremony.
Long term impact: Community-led and owned
To improve the ongoing support to girls who have graduated through the community-led Alternative Rite of Passage, the programme will continue hosting Annual Girls Symposiums and integrate regular check-ins with ARP graduates using Tracking the Girls (TTG) digital tool.
This will collect data on the girls' educational attainment, their wellbeing, threats and instances of FGM/C, forced marriage and expulsion from their homes. The TTG tool and the symposium also ensure they have avenues to report pressure to undergo FGM/C and to help build a comprehensive insight into long-term programme impact.
Amref Health Africa UK would like to thank The Rabelais Trust for its ongoing support which makes this project possible.
Watch more
In December 2024, the community of Olgululoi in Kajiado, Kenya held an Alternative Rites of Passage ceremony. Kenyan news channel was there on the day to capture the joy and excitement of the ARP girls and their families.
