Today the workshop was in the Government Dispensary in Barsaloi. The women who were there were the traditional women with necklaces around their neck. The age were some young, like the one in the picture 18 years old, and others between 20 to 30 years old. All of them are mothers.
This is a tough group to work with due their strong attachments to their traditions. They still believe the man has all the rights over them because the man “bought” them. For example, they are afraid to request the use of a condom to protect themselves from contracting HIV. This is a shame!! Among the participants of the workshop, there was a woman who was married with an HIV+ man. This is what my translator, Farena, told me. She is infected, of course, and all their children are too. This is a very sad situation. The women are married by their parents a very early age and they don’t care if the man is sick. The parents want to receive their animals, that’s all.
The Female genital mutilation is another strong tradition for these women. They don’t think they have the right to feel pleasure and when I mention it they smile, expressing their shyness. They also mentioned that this information was not important because they had already had to undergo FGM, so I told them that this information was for their children. Kenia has forbidden the FGM but is still a practice in the Samburu tribe. I hope one day this practice will be abolished, but from I can see is going to take time. At least, I have seen that the more educated women are refusing. Little by little.
I have clear that my goal here is to educate the women and not change their traditions. However is frustrating that the women are the victims of all kind of violence and under the excuse of their traditions are not doing anything to improve their situation. What a shame!!!!