In Pictures

The boarding school in Kenya that helps Maasai girls escape FGM

The Naning’oi Girls School and Rescue Centre in Kenya’s Rift Valley is home to around 320 girls.

"When a girl is cut, soon after she is supposed to get married. She will become a wife before getting a chance to go to school", says Selina. — 'When a girl is cut, soon after she is supposed to get married. She will become a wife before getting a chance to go to school,' said Selina. [Natalia Jidovanu/Al Jazeera]

Kajiado County, Kenya – Lasoi’s father told her she was getting married 11 days after she was cut.

She didn’t know the man she was getting married to nor had she seen him before but a boda-boda (motorcycle taxi) arrived at her home to take her to her groom.

Lasoi, who is 10, is one of the 320 girls seeking refuge from female genital mutilation (FGM) and child marriage at Naning’oi Girls School and Rescue Centre in Kenya’s Rift Valley.

She escaped from her husband’s home the following morning, running back to her parent’s house.

There she was beaten by her father and taken back to her husband.

One week later Lasoi ran away to her parents for a second time, only to be beaten and turned back again.

Tormented by the husband’s relatives and disowned by her own family, Lasoi’s life became a series of pitiless beatings and household chores. She was denied food when caught playing with other children and was expected to sleep in her husband’s house every night.

Lasoi was found lying unconscious in a grazing field by an old Maasai herder a few weeks after marriage.

She was followed by her husband while she was grazing the cows and she was beaten and left unconscious. She was rescued by members of Nashipai Maasai Community Project and taken to the Naning’oi Rescue Centre.

Lasoi’s story is not out of the ordinary in areas like Kajiado and Narok counties, both predominantly Maasai areas.

Though the practice of FGM has been criminalised in Kenya since 2011, thousands of families still perform it, especially in rural areas.

To avoid detection and subsequent prosecution, the practice thrives behind closed doors. “It is impossible to find an adult woman here who has escaped the cut,” says Selina Nkoile, an activist born into the Maasai tribe, who in 2017 decided to quit her job at a multinational company in Nairobi to embark on a rescue mission.

“Once a girl is married, her family will be compensated with cows – the most valuable asset in the Maasai Community. Girls don’t belong to their parents. They belong to their husbands.”

“I will never accept child marriage being part of my culture. When I was growing up, women were getting married, but a parent would wait for his girl to grow up and develop all the external organs that show that she is a woman, and after that, she will go through the cut and get married. But today parents cannot wait for their children to grow older. People are hiding behind the culture, but when they look at their daughters, what they see is cows they will receive when they will marry them.”

Selina established the Nashipai Maasai Community Project, through which she was able to rescue more than 250 girls from the surrounding villages and bring them to Naning’oi Girls Secondary School.

FGM is perceived as bringing honor to the girl and to her family - it transforms a girl into a woman and makes her eligible for marriage, raising the status of her family in the eyes of the community. — FGM is perceived as bringing honour to the girl and to her family as it transforms a girl into a woman and makes her eligible for marriage, raising the status of her family in the eyes of the community. [Natalia Jidovanu/Al Jazeera]

Girls who have not undergone the cut are often taunted and told they will never marry. Therefore, uncircumcised girls face incredible pressure to succumb to the cut to avoid being stigmatized and excl — Girls who have not undergone the cut are often taunted and told they will never marry. Therefore, uncut girls face incredible pressure to succumb to the cut to avoid being stigmatised and excluded by their community. [Brian Otieno/Al Jazeera]

After being booked into marriage at the age of 7, Selina was lucky to be enrolled by an NGO in the first ever boarding school to be open in her homeland – the Naing''oi Girls School. She was among the — After being promised to a man at the age of 7, Selina was lucky to be enrolled by an NGO in the first ever boarding school in her homeland – the Naing'oi Girls School. She was among the first girls in her village to complete primary and secondary education. [Natalia Jidovanu/Al Jazeera]

Selina''s work focuses on increasing girls'' access to free education and supporting them to make informed choices on decisions that will impact their health and life. — Selina's work focuses on promoting girls' access to free education and supporting them to make informed choices on decisions that will affect their health and life. [Natalia Jidovanu/Al Jazeera]

Doing this is no easy task. The Maasai culture is heavily patriarchal, with strong socio-cultural norms and beliefs. The elders and the spiritual leaders are the decisionmakers and the gatekeepers who — The Maasai culture is heavily patriarchal, with strong sociocultural norms and beliefs. The elders and the spiritual leaders are the decision-makers and the gatekeepers who pass the rites and cultural norms from generation to generation. [Natalia Jidovanu/Al Jazeera]

Practices like FGM continue to be perpetuated and promoted in many Maasai areas, built upon the belief that women aren''t women unless they are cut. — Practices like FGM continue to be perpetuated and promoted in many Maasai areas, built upon the belief that women aren't women unless they are cut. [Brian Otieno/Al Jazeera]

"We go door-to-door and talk to the girls'' parents and convince them to allow their daughters to come to school", explains Selina. She believes that the practice of FGM is strongly related to the lack — 'We go door-to-door and talk to the girls' parents and convince them to allow their daughters to come to school,' explains Selina. 'Many women suffer from the consequences of FGM, but they are not aware that their problems were caused by it. I learned about FGM in school. Before I came to school, I thought it was right for me to go through the cut because that it is what all the other girls I knew went through.' [Brian Otieno/Al Jazeera]

320 girls are enrolled in the current academic year at Naning''oi Girls School, which Selina supports through her Nashipai Maasai Community Project initiative. — Now, 320 girls are enrolled for the current academic year at Naning'oi Girls School, which Selina supports through her Nashipai Maasai Community Project initiative. [Natalia Jidovanu/Al Jazeera]

Selina says that once the girls are in school, their voices grow stronger, they become empowered and during holidays they go back home and convince their parents of the value of education. [Natalia Jidovanu/Al Jazeera]

"When a girl goes to school, she will spend her early years learning in a safe environment and will get married at an older age”, she explains. “In school girls will get knowledge, they will know abou — 'When a girl goes to school, she will spend her early years learning in a safe environment and will get married at an older age. In school, girls will get knowledge, they will know about their bodies and their rights. Education means that girls will be able to stand boldly and defend those rights'. [Brian Otieno/Al Jazeera]

Selina is not alone in her fight for girls'' freedom, rights, and dignity. Step by step, and with the help of her community peers and youth leaders, she is slowly seeing a change. Salei Koikai, 65, is — Step by step, and with the help of her community peers and youth leaders, Selina is slowly seeing a change. Salei Koikai, 65, is a former traditional circumciser who has performed the FGM ritual for more than 30 years before abandoning the practice 8 years ago. [Natalia Jidovanu/Al Jazeera]

Salei cannot remember how many girls has cut. "When the parents called me to perform the cut, I used to do it because that was my source of livelihood", she explains. She says that during the ceremony — Salei cannot remember how many girls she has cut. 'When the parents called me to perform the cut, I used to do it because that was my source of livelihood,' she explains. She says that during the ceremony, she used to cut off all the external parts of girls' genitals. 'But after the cut, the girls become sick. They cannot walk, they cannot run.' [Brian Otieno/Al Jazeera]

Today, Salei is a Board Management member in the school and she encourages other women and leaders in the community to abandon the practice. "After seeing the consequences, I don''t support the cutting — Today, Salei is a board management member in the school and she encourages other women and leaders in the community to abandon the practice. 'After seeing the consequences, I don't support the cutting anymore, because it has no benefit for the girls' health.' [Natalia Jidovanu/Al Jazeera]

The fight to end FGM may be far from over for many girls in Kenya and other countries where the practice is recurrent, but Selina believes that the efforts are not in vain. "Bu educating communities a — 'By educating communities about the dangers of FGM, child marriage and the importance of education, we will be able to achieve a society where every girl and woman can decide what to do with her body, with her life, and with her future,' said Selina. [Natalia Jidovanu/Al Jazeera]