FGM bill could help eliminate harmful practice regionally
By Emmanuel Mwita, July 23, 2025Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) remains one of the most pressing human rights issues in East Africa, affecting millions of girls and women across the region.
While several East African Community countries, including Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan, Ethiopia, and Djibouti, have criminalised the practice, FGM continues to thrive due to porous borders, cultural entrenchment, and a lack of harmonised regional policies.
The East African Community Bill to end cross-border FGM represents a significant breakthrough.
It is a unified, regionally coordinated, and legally binding framework that enhances enforcement, closes legal loopholes, and fosters collective accountability among member states.
One main challenge in fighting FGM is cross-border circumvention.
When laws are enforced in one country, perpetrators exploit weak border controls to undergo the cut in neighbouring countries where enforcement may be weaker.
The bill provides a harmonised legislative response that criminalises FGM across all member states, including extraterritorial provisions.
The bill mandates the establishment of cross-border surveillance and enforcement mechanisms, including border patrols, joint law enforcement operations, and community monitoring systems involving local leaders, youth, and grassroots organisations.
It facilitates intelligence sharing and coordinated arrests and prosecutions, addressing the previously fragmented approach that allowed perpetrators to evade justice.
If fully implemented with political will and adequate resources, the bill could eliminate FGM regionally and serve as a model for other regional blocs facing similar transnational human rights violations.
Emmanuel Mwita is a Migori-based youth Advocate