Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has asked National Administration Officers (NGAOs) to work with counties and the community to end harmful and retrogressive practices such as child ‘marriages’.
He said as Kenya joins the world in marking the International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation, such practices deny girls education.
Gachagua said women are critical to socio-economic development, but they can only do so with quality education.
Speaking at Isiolo Girls High School during a funds drive for infrastructural development of the institution over the weekend, he said education is one of the ways of collectively alleviating the society for men and women to contribute equally to the growth of the nation.
“We cannot allow the dreams of our girls to be subjected to practices that snatch them the passport to a bright future. The Kenya of today and the future is for all-girls and boys, men and women," Gachagua said.
"I ask the National Government Administration Officers to work with the County Government of Isiolo and indeed across the country, to end these retrogressive practices.”
He said FGM exposes girls to child ‘marriages’ as they are perceived to be ready for family life despite the tender age.
"FGM is a false transition that denies girls the opportunity to enjoy childhood as they start a prolonged miserable adult life, which they are not ready for. They are ready for school, not marriage. Girls are children, not mothers. They must be in school,” he said.
According to research, education reduces FGM in girls by up to 89 per cent.
Secondary education reduces teenage pregnancy from 38 per cent to about 5 per cent.
Gachagua expressed concern that despite interventions to end FGM by 2022, more than 65 per cent of girls between 15-49 years in Isiolo County have undergone the cut.
This is against a national average of 15 per cent as of 2021.
This national data is a drop from 37.6 per cent in 1998, with pastoral communities showing slower rates of abandoning the practice.
Gachagua said Kenya remains committed to meeting the international target of ending the practice before 2030 and expanding education opportunities for girls is one of the strategies.
“The Ruto Administration is deliberate in investing in quality Education for all, across the country. It is for this reason that we committed over Sh628.6 Billion to the Ministry of Education to, among other issues, support full implementation of the Competency-Based Curriculum and other Education Sector Reforms,” he said.
Isiolo Women Representative Mumina Bonaya, an alumnus of the school, said the institution is a safe space for the girl child, hence the need to expand its infrastructure to serve the region better.
Gachagua delivered a financial contribution to the Government, that of President William Ruto, besides his own.
He promised more funds for the school in the next financial year to give it a national look.