Issues Facing Girls
We work on critical issues to promote gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.
Alignment: Goal #5 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)
FGM, female circumcision, or ‘Muratare’ is a painful initiation into adulthood that leaves many girls with physical and psychological trauma, difficult births, and sexual health problems. Some girls even die from it. Refusing FGM has serious consequences with girls being excluded from their communities, facing verbal and physical assault, and being rejected by future marriage partners.
HIV / AIDS
This pandemic is spreading at alarming rates in the pastoralist communities. This puts many girls at risk who are being forced into having unprotected sex.
Forced Early Marriage
In our pastoralist community where drought is an ever-present problem, most people live in poverty. As a result, many parents give up their young daughters to early marriages in exchange for a dowry of cows, sheep, or camels.
Beading
Morans (young male warriors) identify girls (ages 7-13) with whom they wish to have unprotected sex and then buy those girls from their families with beads. If the girls become pregnant, they are forced to undergo abortion. Beaded girls are then undesirable as wives and so become the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th wife of old men.