This Strong Maasai Woman Fights For Women’s Dignity. Here’s why!
(April 2019)
Faith, a very enthusiastic young woman, studies at St. Pauls University in Nairobi with support of StandUp4Talent. She works hard and grasps every opportunity to promote her mission to improve the position of women in Maasailand.
Michel de Koning asked her to work with him on the story and script of the White Mountain Women Empowerment VR film.
And he published an interview on medium.com about her life story, her vision on the position of women in Maasailand, Female Genital Mutilation, and women empowerment:
Can you tell the readers who you are?
I am Faith Supeet a second born in a family of six children.
I started schooling at Olosirua Primary School in Iloodokilani ward, then transferred to Esilanke Primary School. My dad decided to transfer me to AIC girls boarding school due to long distance walk by foot taken every morning and evening. Esilanke primary is 10km away from home. After that I joined Oloyiangalani girls high school, after completing my high school studies I had to stay home for a period of two years due to lack of funds that could take me to school. Through well-wishers I managed to join St Paul’s university where am currently pursuing a certificate in Communications and Public Relations.
After you were informed about FGM you decided you didn’t want it. What is FGM?
FGM (Female Genital Mutilation) is a rite of passage that a girls has to undergo so that she can become a woman. This a process where some parts or all the external female genitalia is removed depending on different communities that still practice this act. Our culture practices FGM by removing the clitoris.
How does FGM influence your community?
In the Maasai community that I come from FGM is still carried out. They believe female genital mutilation is a way to control women’s sexuality. They say that a girl can only be a woman after undergoing the process. They say FGM is a way of ensuring virginity before marriage and fidelity afterward and also to increase male sexual pleasure. They believe it as a way to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS.
What is the effect of FGM on a women empowerment?
Complications during birth is the biggest risk. Most of the women that have undergone female genital mutilation have a very high risk of not giving birth normally. Most of them are forced to undergo caesarean section. Immediate complications include severe pain, urine retention, wound infection, urinary infection, haemorrhage and infections that can be severe enough to cause death.
You also talk about teenage pregnancy. Can you describe what happens with teenage pregnancy in Maasai communities?
When girls undergo FGM they consider themselves women, they can involve themselves to what married women do. They start involving themselves in sex at a tender age. After some months after undergoing the cut teenage girls get pregnant and are forced to drop out of school to become a mother. Most parents get discouraged after their girl gets pregnant.
What happen when girls are married early?
They marry them off to older men and then it comes to an end of the girl her dreams. Their duties as women are to take care of young ones, to look after cattle, fetch firewood and many other home duties and their dreams to be a doctor, a teacher and a helpful person in the society is shuttered.
What are the effects of both things on women empowerment?
Teenage pregnancy and early marriages has affected the life of many girls and the society at large. It has led to high level of poverty. This is because when a girl is married off at a tender age with no education or any work skills that means that the girl has to depend fully to his husband for everything. That means only one source of income in a family that is not sufficient for everyone in the family.
The girls are not able to achieve their dreams since the goals and future visions are cut off. They are supposed to only look after their families. This will increase the level of poverty and prevent development leading to slow economic growth.
What has changed for girls who have education?
The girls with education are able to be what they have always dream for like teachers, lawyers, journalist and many more careers of their choice.
They are able to know their rights, most of them have the voice to say no to female genital mutilation. They are able to decide on their own their dream husband. Uneducated girls cannot choose anything for themselves. They can have a job that will help them get an earning. They know what is right for them and culture cannot dictate their way of life.
They tend to live a healthier life, participate more in the formal labour market, earn higher income have fewer children and afford education for their children should they choose to become mothers.
Faith wrote the story and script for the White Mountain Women Empowerment VR film.
