EMBAR

Author:
Patrick Michael Ogeto
Department of Social Studies, Laikipia University, Kenya

DOI: doi.org/10.58924/rjhss.v5.iss1.p29

Published Date: 25-Feb, 2026

Keywords: Female Genital Mutilation, Kuria, Kenya, Tanzania, borderlands, cross-border migration, cultural

Abstract:
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) has remained one of the most persistent socio-cultural practices among the Kuria communities straddling the Kenya–Tanzania border despite decades of legal prohibition, policy interventions, and advocacy campaigns. This study examines the historical evolution of cross-border dilemmas in the control of FGM among the Kuria from 1963 to 2010. Employing a historical research design, the study draws on archival records, government reports, legal documents, oral testimonies, and relevant secondary literature to interrogate the changing dynamics of FGM regulation and resistance in the borderland region. The findings reveal that the porous nature of the Kenya–Tanzania border facilitated the migration of girls, circumcisers, and families seeking to evade state restrictions, thereby undermining national anti-FGM initiatives. The study further demonstrates that differences in legal frameworks, enforcement capacities, community attitudes, and cultural perceptions on either side of the border created opportunities for the continuation and adaptation of the practice. Rather than eliminating FGM, many interventions contributed to its concealment, cross-border relocation, and transformation into more clandestine forms. The article argues that the persistence of FGM among the Kuria cannot be adequately understood through nation-state approaches alone, but must be situated within the broader historical realities of borderland communities whose social, cultural, and kinship networks transcend political boundaries. The study contributes to scholarship on gender, borderlands, and cultural continuity in East Africa by highlighting the limitations of isolated national policies and the necessity of coordinated transboundary approaches in addressing deeply entrenched cultural practices.

References: