Lake Natron Rescue Center for Maasai girls and women
Strenghtening
women´s rights
Some of the most vulnerable, poor, and culturally sensitive people in East Africa are the Maasai, pastoralist people living in the northern part of Tanzania.
We are the educated among them and on their behalf, we are writing this proposal for a rescue and shelter center for particularly vulnerable poor Maasai girls and women. It is one of the helpful projects we – Engishon Emaa Foundation – plan to implement as part of our community-based work in the Engaresero Ward / Lake Natron region.
Maasai girls are often forcibly married and forced to undergo genital mutilation. This project is focusing on high-risk Maasai communities in Ngorongoro district. It aims to reduce the incidence of harmful practices in Engaresero Ward by empowering young girls and strengthening women´s rights.
What is FGM?
Child marriage and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) are a violation of human rights and act as root causes for discrimination and violence against girls.
FGM (also referred to as “female circumcision” or “female genital cutting”) is a procedure involving the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia (or other injuries to the female genital organs) for non-medical reasons. Rather than a clinical practice that brings upon health benefits, it does the opposite, causing severe pain, bleeding, fever, infections, shock and even death. The list of possible long-term consequences is long and includes chronic pain, keloid scarring, abscesses and cyst formation, clitoral neuromas, chronic urinary tract infections, bladder and kidney damage, decreased sexual enjoyment, increased risks of adverse effects during childbirth, and psychological consequences like posttraumatic stress disorder. Also, it affects the girls´ future opportunities for education and income generation.
FGM is almost always carried out on minors who do not have sufficient knowledge to understand its implications - during infancy, on girls under ten or adolescent girls. Occasionally the FGM procedure is performed on adult women, including pregnant women.
The practice of genital mutilation has its origins in diverse and complex belief systems and rituals in traditional, male-dominated societies. It is intended to reduce the sexual desire of girls and women, promote virginity and chastity, and maintain the fidelity of married women. Moreover, in some practicing groups, genital mutilation is a central part of rites of passage for girls into adulthood and an integral part of society's definition of femininity. Once a girl is circumcised, the community assumes that she is ready for marriage even if she is under 18.
Although the right to participate in cultural life and freedom of religion are protected by international law, the violation of core fundamental human rights and freedoms (e.g., the right to integrity, the right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment) weighs more heavily. Therefore, social and cultural claims cannot be invoked as justification for female genital mutilation.
Tanzania &
Maasai communites
Child marriage and FGM are deeply entrenched practices in many regions in Tanzania despite the country having signed numerous regional and international human rights agreements limiting or banning it. Tanzania has committed to eliminate child and forced marriage by 2030.
Tanzania´s national child marriage prevalence is one of the highest in the world: 31% of girls in Tanzania are married before their 18th birthday and 5% are married before the age of 15. In rural areas in Northern Tanzania, some girls reportedly marry as young as 11.
In many pastoralist Maasai tribes, if you are born a girl, child marriage is a cultural practice that is a girl´s destiny. Typically, Maasai girls are circumcised between 11-13 and then soon married off to a man chosen by her father in exchange for cattle. The consequences of FGM and early marriage on girls are grave, not least the fact that girls who marry early are often forced to leave school and terminate their education.
There are several push factors that act as incentives for families to continue the practice. In Maasai communities where it is a tradition, girls and women who do not undergo FGM are stigmatized and discriminated for noncompliance with traditional norms. Also, there is a widely proofed connection between child marriage, hunger, and access to education.
Child marriage is driven by gender inequality and the belief that girls are somehow inferior to boys. As there are many factors associated with the risk of child marriage, a multi-sector approach to ending child marriage is so necessary. Saving girls from child marriage means saving them from FGM and supports them to achieve their educational dreams, as the practice of FGM and child marriage particularly affect girls who are the least educated, poorest, and living in rural areas. Only united, concerted, and well-funded action can end the practice of FGM and child marriage within our Maasai community.
Lake Natron
Rescue Center
Lake Natron Rescue Center (LNRC) shall be a rescue home for those that need to be sheltered and a safe place that offers an alternative to oppressive cultural norms. Our vision is to positive influence the lives of the most vulnerable, at-risk Maasai girls and to break the cycle of poverty and oppression through a sustainable path for the most disadvantaged people in our community.
The Maasai girls that will be seeking refuge at LNRC are at risk of violence and lack of options. Female genital mutilation, early marriage and early pregnancy are massive challenges these girls face. Either because these cases have already occurred or because they are imminently threatened. Also, they are most likely either behind in their schooling or have never attended school. Some might have significant medical problems and no way to get help. Their vision of their own future is limited to what they see in their families and villages.
At the LNRC we will provide them with a safe place to walk to for protection, to gain freedom and autonomy over their own bodies, where they will be respected in their individuality and where they will find hope and motivation for their dreams. We believe that education is the best way to break the cycle of abuse and poverty and to change the life of a girl child for the better. Therefore, girls who participate in the project and seek for help will get education opportunities to complete school.
We guide, support, and empower these girls and women to develop core skills in leadership, self-confidence and economic independence to fulfill their options as income-earning adults, able to occupy responsible administrative, commercial or
political posts. In this way they'll be competent to influence decisions on behalf of women and girls and serve as role models for the community, being the Anti-FGM ambassadors of the future.
The project approach is based on the partnership and active involvement of the girls themselves, as well as mobilization of multiple stakeholders at local level, which is instrumental to project achievements. A multi-stakeholder collaboration will be essential not just to give the girls and women a safe place at LNRC but also to consign the practices of FGM and child marriages in our community to history, and to enable our girls and women to access education. All of us need to join hands and commit to action to give back to our young Maasai girls their childhood, their dreams, their choices, and their future.
The notion within the Maasai community that girls have no rights and are only seen as barter for some wealth and to give birth will not be immediately dispelled due to the strong influence of the age-old Maasai traditions and customs. We firmly believe that with extensive community education and sustainable community development, these taboos and cultural beliefs could be eliminated. Ending FGM in our community requires collaboration, concerted and collective efforts. Involving men and boys as allies, with traditional and community leaders and even former practitioners of female genital mutilation breaking the taboo of silence surrounding FGM, child marriage and women´s rights, we will transform the social norms and eliminate these harmful practices. Together we will overcome conservative opposers who do not support the change to cultural practice.
Further projects
Besides creating and operating the Lake Natron Rescue Center we will take actions in the following fields to achieve our goals and vision of an equal Maasai society:
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Continuous awareness work on empowering girls and young women in our community
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Addressing and questioning community social norms
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Providing hygienical services for girls and women
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Teaching the community about alternative rites of passage for young girls that do not involve cutting
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Workshops and seminars about gender-based violence, FGM and child marriage: once girls and women are equipped with knowledge of the law and their human rights, they can take a stand and refuse to undergo the practice
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Ensuring that our project partners have the capacity and organizational systems to collaborate effectively
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Community-based monitors and rapid intervention teams to give low-threshold support (health and psychological services, assistance to further help)