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Silence, cultural bondage killing girls in Sebei
DAVID MAFABI
KAMPALA

“My father forced me to undergo Female Genital Mutilation at the age of 13 and when I tried to run away, he warned me that he would beat me to death,” says Anna Chebet, now 16 before breaking down.

She says that even when she made an alarm that morning, nobody responded, nobody raised a finger but that the neighbours just said “Girls must undergo FGM according to Sabiny culture,”

“My independence, natural joy, gentleness, and steady lifestyle I enjoyed became distorted beyond recognition. I was closed off, angry, irritable and empty as I lay down bleeding,” adds Anna.

“I was told that I was a woman after FGM, forced to abandon school and married off to a man fit to be my father. And, slowly, my entire world, everything I thought I knew, began to unravel, I was broken and it was the darkest, loneliest feeling I’ve ever encountered,” added Mr Chebet.

Chebet is not alone, every year young girls of about 13 are forced to abandon school, forced to undergo FGM and married off by their parents in Kween, Kapchorwa and Bukwo districts of Uganda without anybody raising a finger.

Many girls tell out harrowing, detailed account of their FGM experiences how they are forced by parents and bound by culture.

Ms Beatrice Chelangat, the director general of Reproductive Education and Community Health, an NGO that is involved in the fight against FGM says she listens every year to these harrowing stories from young girls.

“And every time I close my eyes, I hear them screaming for help. I see innocent young girls being forced by their parents to undergo FGM.  And I speak to myself; I promise you, I will not just shed tears for the injustices you are facing. I will reach out to every homestead in Sebei to end FGM and ensure young girls get the dignity they deserve,” Ms Chelangat says.

Despite a 2010 law banning FGM nationally, four months from now, girl-child in Sebei sub-region will undergo FGM; the procedure remains highly prevalent especially in rural culturally bound areas where silence rules.
The consequences are appalling. Along with an education and childhood cut short, girls suffer a traumatic initiation into sexual relationships, are put at risk of domestic violence and STI's, and have the chance of a career or better life taken away.
The District Health Officer for Kapchorwa Dr Michael Mwanga says many of these girls usually die in childbirth or from pregnancy-related complications - the leading cause of death for girls aged between 15 and 19 years old in developing countries, according to UN figures.

“Many of these girls are not mature physically or emotionally, “said Dr Mwanga.

He said that FGM has left many young girls suffering incontinence, excessive bleeding, urine retention, paralysis and even death during childbirth, leaving many women at risk of HIV and other infections as well as psychological trauma.

Although efforts are underway to have FGM stopped, changing the life style of the people living in Kween, Kapchorwa and Bukwo districts at the slopes of Mt Elgon in order to end the practice is proving a headache to local leadership in the region.

Although like United Nations health experts is calling for stronger commitments from the local people to end the FGM in bid to restore the dignity of the girl-child, many traditionalist are not ready to drop the practice.

Victims of customs
Mr Nelson Chelimo, the former LCV chairman for Kapchorwa says women and girls in Sebei sub-region have been victims of outdated customs, attitudes and male prejudice and must be educated to liberate themselves from the bondage.

Mr Chelimo says the misery young girls go through typifies the misfortune faced by thousands of young girls in Sebei sub-region where tradition does not give them an opportunity to speak their mind.

“Young girls in Sebei are expected to undergo FGM before they can be regarded as women and perform other duties such as attending village meetings, serving food to newly-circumcised boys, smearing houses, getting food from granaries as well as being leaders or speaking in public, this is what is holding our people behind,” said Mr Chelimo.

A victim of the FGM in Sebei Sub-region and now ambassador against the practice, Ms Eunice Cherukut, said the practice now thrives on concocted perceptions and mysteries that hold girls in fear.
Ms Cherukut is now an Anti-FGM ambassador with REACH programme,
said many women who undergo FGM develop reproductive health complications, which they fear to expose to midwives.

Why the persistence
Ms Alice Chesang, a resident of Binyiny in Kween like other traditionalists argue that FGM is a part of their culture that makes them distinct from other tribes.

“FGM initiates girls into womanhood, shapes the morality of women during marriage and above all that is our livelihood as we are paid for mutilating the girls,” said Ms Chesang.

Kokop Cherop, 71, a traditional surgeon, says circumcising girls is the only means of survival she has got which enables her to educate her children.

“I have been circumcising since the age of 20 and from this I have educated my children; it’s a means of survival. So when someone talks about ending it, I just laugh it off,” 71 year Cherop said.

Ignorance of the law
The FGM researcher, Mr Simon Alere says the biggest population living in the rural remote areas of Kabei, Bukwo parts of Suam, Chesower (Bukwo) and Kwanyiny, Benet, where the culture originated and where the people value FGM have no information about the law.

“There was a time the parliamentary committee on gender came here to talk about FGM but they only addressed us and the councilors but in the villages people are still asking how the law was passed without consulting them,” said Mr Alere.

He adds that this pauses a lot of challenge especially in implementing the law.

 “People are saying the law is harsh, unfair and needs to be amended. But until everyone in involved broad on board and taught the law, the deep rooted culture is not about to go,” says Mr Alere.

Mr Yona Cherotich, 72, of Kapsos village in Bukwo sub-county says he does not know about the law prohibiting the culture of the Sabiny.

 “You tell us to abandon this culture inherited from our ancestors to keep the morality of our girls! It is strange. I want to assure you that I have a daughter supposed to be circumcised this year and I am preparing and nothing will stop me from circumcising her because her sisters, mother and grandmother are all circumcised,” said Cherotich.

Mr Stephen Matek, a local council leader at Chesower says, “Although literate parents now fear the new law against FGM, many traditionalists and illiterate parents, ignorant about the law will circumcise their children,”

He says although the new law also intends to establish appropriate and administrative measures to uphold the sexual rights and dignity of women and girls, the traditional Sabiny insist there is no way to womanhood known to keep morality of women apart from FGM.

The minister of water and environment Mr Sam Cheptoris says FGM is still persisting in Sebei sub-regions because it is based on manipulation of women’s sexuality in order to ensure male domination and exploitation as a part of patriarchal repression.

Mr Cheptoris says, “The law has not changed anything much the villages, but sensitization of the masses against FGM will yield desired results soon,” said Mr Cheptoris.

Signs of success

But even with these fears, Ms Chelangat is optimistic that the practice will drop given the reducing number of girls who undergo FGM in Kapchorwa, Bukwo and Kween districts.

Statistics compiled by Reproductive Education and Community Health (Reach), a local community NGO to improve health conditions and help discard FGM in the Sebei sub-region, indicate that in 2014 only 18 girls were circumcised in Kapchorwa and 83 girls in Kween compared to 204 in Bukwo district.

Many Sabiny believe the decline is due to the intervention of Reach programme using drama and songs to fight it.

“The REACH programme is opening people’s eyes against the practice through Drama and songs. And I want to say that the role of Christianity which is also condemning the practice is awakening people,” said Ms Chesang.

She adds that the young girls in plays are part of a growing network of women and men who are working for the complete elimination of this harmful practice.

Effects of FGM
Among the salient issues cited as effects of female circumcision are mounting medical evidence are that; FGM poses a serious threat to the health of women and girls, increasing vulnerability to HIV, raising the risk of maternal and infant mortality and harming psychological, sexual and reproductive health, severe pain, hemorrhage, tetanus infections, cysts and urinary inconvenience.

This is the basis upon which Reproductive Education and Community Health, an local NGO used to launch a law to criminalize FGM. Ends

That Chewing gum could ruin your life
DAVID MAFABI
KAMPALA
Gift Kirabo, a 14 year old student of St Paul’s College, Mbale adds Chewing gum every term to her back to school supply list.
Kirabo is nurturing ambitions to pursue human medicine but constantly chews gum every time she feels free at school and home.
During the holidays when she is sent to buy something, she spares some change to buy chewing gum to keep herself busy chewing throughout the day.
Kirabo is not alone, in bars, night clubs and restaurants, it is a common occurrence to find someone chewing gum and yet, no one is even trying to stop them because we don’t know the effects.
If you asked teenagers why they chew gum, answers are most likely to range from stress relief, freshening the breath, overcoming food cravings to getting hooked on the flavor.
For those who have been football fans, especially fans of Manchester United, you could have seen former manager Sir Alex Fergusson and other managers of football clubs chew all the time to keep off tension.
Dr Muhammad Mulongo, the DHO Bulambuli says there are very real health risks associated with chewing gum and that most are related to excess stomach acid.
He said gum chewing stimulates the cells lining the stomach wall to produce digestive (hydrochloric) acid and that this is a natural mechanism to ensure that when the food that is being chewed reaches the stomach, there is some acid in there to begin the digestion process.
“And when you begin chewing gum, acid is secreted into the stomach; only this time there is no food being swallowed to be digested. It builds up acid in the stomach which will effectively just slosh around in there,” said Dr Mulongo.
“And this is bad news as more acid simply sits in your stomach, the greater the chance of developing stomach ulcers but of course this is dependent on the amount of gum one chews,” adds Dr Mulongo.
Dr Andrew Kasoro, a pediatrician at Mbale regional hospital and also working at Dekar clinic says when you chew gum, it secrets an excess of useless saliva in your mouth and makes the stomach think it is hungry or getting food and that this could run you into health risk.
“I would suggest that moderation is necessary in whichever type of gum you are chewing; limit your children from chewing gum as much as you can. Too much sugared gum is not good for the good of their teeth and the stomach,” said Dr Kasoro.
Dr Kasoro like other doctors agree that chewing gum causes one to swallow excess air which can contribute to abdominal pain and bloating seen with irritable bowel syndrome [IBS].
“Whenever you start chewing gum, you actually alert your enzymes that food is coming in your body, enzymes and acids are activated while chewing the gum are then released but unfortunately they find no food in the stomach, they are intended to digest,” said Dr Kasoro.
According to Dr Kasoro, chewing gum will bring an over production of stomach acid which could compromise your ability to produce sufficient digestive secretions when you actually eat food.
Dr Mulongo says some people have developed adverse gastrointestinal symptoms including diarrhea from artificial sweetners found in the chewing gum.
At www.marcola.com [take care of your life] Dr. Joseph Mercola says the US is among the top three countries with the highest rates of chewing gum consumption worldwide.

He adds that in the US, 59 percent of people chew gum, surpassed only by Iran (82 percent) and Saudi Arabia (79 percent] [a primary reason why the Middle East may have more gum chewers than the US is because chewing gum is often given out by merchants in place of small change).

Dr Marcola says that in the US, many people chew gum as a snack simply because they like the flavor or the distraction it provides. Some use it for stress relief or even a tool for reducing food cravings but that this does not typically work.

Other effects of Chewing gum
Before you reach out for another stick of gum, consider these rather disturbing side effects that gum chewing can cause.

Dr Mulongo says that Chewing gum may increase your junk food intake. Research has shown that chewing gum reduces ones motivation to eat, hunger and how much you end up eating.

“For example, people who chew gum are less likely to eat fruit and instead are more motivated to eat junk food like potato chips and candy. This is likely because the minty flavor in the gum makes fruits and vegetables taste bitter,” says Dr Mulongo.

Dr Marcola says that chewing gum may trigger temporomandibular joint [TMJ] disorder in ones jaws.

He adds that chewing gum causes jaw muscle imbalance (if you chew on one side more than the other) and even TMJ in your jaw; a painful chronic condition which comes with headaches, earaches, and toothaches over time.

Dr Marcola adds that the artificial sweetener aspartame used in making Chewing gum is metabolized inside your body into both wood alcohol (a poison) and formaldehyde (which is a carcinogen used as embalming fluid and is not eliminated from your body through the normal waste filtering done by your liver and kidneys).
“It has been linked to birth defects, cancers, brain tumors and weight gain,” says Dr Marcola in his magazine Take care of your life.
At www.marcola.com [take care of your life] adds that chewing gum causes tooth Damage “If your chewing gum contains sugar, you're essentially "bathing" your teeth in sugar while you chew away. This can contribute to tooth decay,”
The website says chewing gum often contains lanolin, a waxy substance that's derived from sheep wool, to help it stay soft and that while not necessarily dangerous to your health, chewing on lanolin is not exactly appetizing.
The web says chewing is linked to headaches in teens and adds that teenagers are notorious for gum chewing and popping. If your child is a frequent gum chewer and suffers from headaches, you should know that a link has recently been established.
Dr Marcola adds that you might not pay much attention to the ingredients in chewing gum because, after all, it's not actually swallowed but that the ingredients, many of which are potentially dangerous, do enter your body, directly through the walls of your mouth.
“As with the toxic ingredients in personal care products like lotion, which are absorbed directly through your skin and into your bloodstream, the ingredients in gum also get absorbed by your body quickly and directly, bypassing the digestive system that would ordinarily help to filter some of the toxins away,” said Dr Marcola.
Dr Marcola adds that one such type of harmful chemicals is artificial sweeteners, which are ubiquitous in chewing gum.
www.marcola.com says studies looking at this issue show very clearly that artificial sweeteners may actually cause greater weight gain than sugar by stimulating your appetite, increasing carbohydrate cravings, and stimulating fat storage.
The website adds that it is quite a mystery what "gum base" is actually made out of, but that investigators found it is usually a blend of elastomers, resins, plasticizers, and fillers which most manufacturers do not reveal.
“After all, why would they want you to know that you're potentially chewing on petroleum-derived paraffin wax, polyvinyl acetate (carpenter's glue) and talc, all of which are linked to cancer,” Dr Marcola adds.
Doctors advise that “But if you're a regular gum chewer, there's compelling evidence that this is one habit you're better off without. From its questionable ingredients to its impact on your teeth and digestion, chewing gum belongs right in the trash – not in your mouth”. Ends
Sweeteners are added to gum to give it that sweet flavor. Those ingredients are usually sugar, corn syrup and even beet juice. And also used are many synthetic sweeteners, but the most used are xylitol, sorbitol, mannitol and aspartame are also used.
A Chewing gum is made out of Aspartame, BHT (Butylated Hydroxytoluene), Calcium Casein Peptone (Calcium Phosphate), Titanium Dioxide and Gum Base, a kind of petroleum-derived from paraffin wax, polyvinyl acetate (carpenter's glue) and talc, which are linked to cancer.

Wide crop failure blamed on long dry spells
DAVID MAFABI
BULAMBULI. Ms Anastasia Namono, 42, sits in her garden pondering the next move.

She looks at the sun above the sky but can’t stop it from shinning then bends on ground to look at the crops she planted; scanty with dry.

 That after noon she had expected rain to give life to her crops that are now drying in the gardens but it did not pour.

Across in the neighborhood, many of her neighbours also share the same plight with fingers pointing at rain makers for failing rain from pouring.

Ms Namono says in the past they could look at the movement of birds from East to South as an early a sign that rains would pour.

She says they would then plant crops in late February and harvest in May/June/ July then plant for the second season in late July but that everything has today changed.

They can’t now tell their seasons as the rains patterns have changed and now pour in May then disappear throughout the year.

"Everything has changed, we can no longer tell the seasons with the traditional early warning systems, we have now resorted to prayer to help us because everything seems not to be working in our favour, our crops are drying up in gardens,  an indication that something has gone wrong," says Ms Namono.

Ms Namono is just a representative of many farmers who are faced with the an unexpected long dry spell crop failure , which is likely to affect their harvest this season.

“We used to plant in February but February through March has turned into a dry season, we have now changed to planting our crops in April. Harvests used to be in June/July, we now harvest in August and September,” adds Mr Daniel Woniala of Bumasobo sub-county in Sironko district.

A director at National Agricultural Research Organisation Dr William Wogoire confirmed seasons have changed and urged people to diversify agricultural production and start planting drought resistant but early maturing plants to be safe from famine.

Dr Wogoire said farmers must change the planting seasons and use the full range of scientific forecasts for extreme-weather events in order to help mitigate the disasters being caused by climate change.

“It is true that planting seasons have changed but we must learn to use the locally available forecasts and the actions to reduce disaster-risks and draw resilience amongst the people,” said Dr Wogoire.

Dr Wogoire said Uganda is experiencing a widespread prolonged dry-spell since late March through April, May and June and that this is likely to fail the first-season crops.

He revealed that the ministry of agriculture and fisheries should target mainstreaming awareness and understanding of climate change adaptation concepts throughout Uganda to help people understand the concept and its effects of crop production.

 Mr. Chebet Maikut, the Commissioner, Climate Change Unit at the Ministry of Water and Environment, Uganda said the entire country is likely to experience poor harvests throughout the year due to lack of rains.

He said the rising global temperatures and changing weather patterns have become a threatening part of life in most parts of Uganda and are likely to cause poor agricultural performance.

“We are already experiencing rising global temperatures, While part of the dry season has been the normal annual occurrence, there are some particular cases of unprecedented early or late onset/absence of the rains,” said Mr Chebet.

“This scenario was caused by different low and high pressures in the southern hemisphere pulling away rain-bearing winds or pushing them much further beyond Uganda,” he explained. Ends

He said the country should build resilient Communities and Ecosystems through Restoration of Wetlands and Associated Catchments and restoring the ecological balance of Uganda’s national parks to resist climate change impact shocks. Ends

Married off at the age of 7,
DAVID MAFABI
KAMPALA-The minimum legal age for marriage in Uganda is 18, and parental consent is required if a girl or boy is 18. Anyone under 18 is a minor, and defilement of a minor is a serious offence, punishable by imprisonment of up to 25 years.

But Caroline Mukit was 7 when she was married off by her father.
It sounds like a scene from Uganda’s rural districts still held up in tradition, when early marriage was customary, especially for girls, but teenage brides were supposed to remain at school.
But after sensing her father was serious, Caroline now 14 decided to flee home and took refugee at her aunties’ home.
"My father said he needed to benefit [from my bride price] to look after my other five siblings, and that they needed to get food for the family, so he had to give me away for marriage at the age of seven because I was the eldest in the family,” said Caroline.
Caroline says that even when she insisted that she wanted to complete education in order to buy for her father cows and every other thing he wanted, the father did not accept.
My father just said “You are five and you are the eldest remain home, I need cows, I need food for the family,”
She says her father wanted to give her away at the age of seven without her consent and knowledge of her mother.
Caroline says she decided to take off because of fear of being forced to get married to a total strange old enough to be her father.
She attributed cases of child-marriages in Amudat to biting poverty, limited access to education facilities and cultural practices that encourage early marriage.
Caroline says she is not the only one in this part of the country who has been forced into marriage by her father but that there are many more others married off and staying with men.
The former LCV councilor for Amudat [Amudat town council] Mrs. Becky Acocor said the tradition in Amudat [Pokot] allows the husbands to give out girls and that lack of education was still the biggest issue affecting the Pokot who are still stuck in their tradition.
“Amongst the Pokot, the tradition allows families to marry their daughters at young ages without their consent. Many families perceive a girl child as a source of wealth, and would rather give the girl into marriage to raise funds for educating the boy child. So marrying off young girls is a tradition here,' Mrs Acocor said.
He adds that in this part of the country, a girl is usually trained in doing the chores, being obedient, and is kept a virgin, in order to be traded highly without her consent.
According to statistics from the Uganda demographic and health survey 2011, early and forced marriages are common in Amudat district, where the incidence of early pregnancy and under-age marriage is estimated at about 46 percent among teenage girls,
The report adds that most girls are given away before making the age of eighteen; “this means that one out of every four girls is most likely to be married off by the age of eighteen,”.
Education
When she fled marriage, Caroline has beaten all odds to get back to school by the help of her auntie.

She is now in Primary six at Katekit primary school in Amudat.
She says her auntie provides everything; uniform, Pads, food and everything else.

“I want to continue with Education but I need help because my auntie does not have everything, I need support and what I can say is that I want to continue with Education until I finish,” said Caroline.

She says her only hope for a brighter future lies in Education such that she can fight for child-rights.

“I want to become a lawyer so that any person who refuses her child from going to school will just go to go to court or enter in jail and stay there.  Yes, he has to go there, why does he rufuse girls from getting their future, he wants us to suffer like there is no education,” said a rather bitter Caroline before breaking down.   

The Amudat Education Officer Mr Benson Ogi confirms that cases of men marrying off children are common and that there are over 200 children who have run away from their homes over domestic violence against children.

Mr Ogi says the district is already expanding prevention programmes that empower girls at risk of child marriage and address the root causes underlying the practice.

“And most children who run away from schools end up at army detaches, are picked by police and these are transferred to Karasi girls’ and boys’ schools to continue their education,” said Mr Ogi.

Ms Rose Mary Nawout, the Amudat Woman Member of Parliament said child marriage jeopardizes girls’ rights and stands in the way of girls living educated, healthy and productive lives.

“It also excludes girls from fundamental decisions, such as the timing of marriage and choice of spouse and girls living in rural areas of the developing world are twice as likely to be married before age 18 as their urban counterparts, and girls with no education are over three times more likely to do so than those with secondary or higher education,” said Ms Nawout. 

According to statistics from the Population secretariat 2015 of the that the 1.2 million pregnancies recorded in Uganda annually 25% of these are teenage pregnancies, this means more than 300,000 teenagers who get pregnant also account for the bulk of the unwanted pregnancies which end up in un wanted births or abortions.

Caroline says she is among the few luck ones but thinking about the plight of hundreds of girls living in what she describes as modern slavery, she gets  so depressed.

Caroline who is now saved and living with her auntie says “I have forgiven my father but he must stop the habit of marrying off children,”
The LCV chairman for Amudat Mr Francis Kiyonga said there was need to aid girl-child in this part of the country to uplift the standard of women and enable them take decisions that affect their lives.

“Educate a woman and you educate a nation, so the African saying goes.  We must all agree and help our girl-child here,” said Mr Kiyonga. 

Daily Monitor is organising some help to handover to this girl to enable her pursue her dreams in Education.
Ends