More than a decade after Uganda outlawed Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), stakeholders in the Sebei sub-region say the practice has not been eradicated but has instead gone underground, with cross-border communities remaining the biggest obstacle in efforts to eliminate it.
The concerns were raised as cultural leaders, government officials and civil society organisations gathered in Bukwo Town Council to discuss the proposed East African Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation Bill, 2025, which seeks to strengthen regional cooperation in ending the harmful practice.
The dissemination meeting was organised by the Sabiny Transformation Initiative with support from the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA) and funding from the African Women's Development Fund.
Participants said East African countries were compelled to pursue a regional approach after recognising that FGM had become a cross-border challenge, particularly among communities living along the Uganda-Kenya border.
Festo Majinjaj, a Programme Officer at the Sabiny Transformation Initiative, said Uganda's Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act, 2010 significantly reduced the practice but also drove it underground.
"From the time government enacted the 2010 Prohibition of FGM Act, FGM became a clandestine practice. Statistics are not there, but the practice is still there," Majinjaj said.
He noted that although official records are scarce, communities continue to quietly report cases of girls and women undergoing FGM.
According to Majinjaj, the most affected areas are remote border communities where access to education, healthcare, security and economic opportunities remains limited.
He identified Bukwo District as one of the major hotspots because of its proximity to Kenya's West Pokot County, where residents easily cross through numerous unmanned routes along the slopes of Mount Elgon.
"The borders are porous. People just walk across without anybody manning them. FGM is still being practised in these areas," he said.
Majinjaj added that some families continue subjecting girls to FGM because of cultural beliefs associated with marriage and bride price.
He also revealed reports indicating that some women are subjected to genital cutting during childbirth by traditional birth attendants, making the practice even harder to detect.
Bukwo District Community Development Officer Ben Sakaja said the district has made significant progress since the 1990s, when FGM was widely accepted as a cultural practice.
He credited sustained anti-FGM campaigns by organisations such as UNFPA and UNICEF, alongside enforcement of the 2010 law, for reducing the prevalence of the practice.
However, he acknowledged that FGM has evolved rather than disappeared.
"Female genital mutilation has reduced, but it is now being done in a clandestine manner," Sakaja said.
He explained that while some women cross into Kenya to undergo the procedure, others invite traditional cutters into Uganda.
Bukwo District is now working closely with security agencies to strengthen surveillance along border points to prevent both victims and cutters from crossing between the two countries.
"We are in touch with security to ensure that no woman crosses into Kenya and no cutters cross from Kenya into Uganda to carry out FGM," Sakaja said.
Cultural leaders argued that eliminating FGM requires active involvement of the Sabiny Cultural Institution because the practice is deeply rooted in cultural traditions.
They said legal measures alone are insufficient without transforming community beliefs and practices.
The institution has developed the Sabiny Women Alternative Rite of Passage (SWAROP), a programme intended to preserve traditional mentorship while eliminating the harmful practice of genital cutting.
According to cultural leaders, girls traditionally underwent mentorship before being recognised as adults, but they say the cutting aspect should be abandoned.
"We do not want to leave a vacuum. We want our girls to go through mentorship and graduate into responsible Sabiny women without being cut," said Peter Swilikei Kissa, a cultural leader known as the Kingo.
However, Kissa said the initiative faces challenges due to the lack of formal government recognition and funding.
The leaders want the Sabiny Cultural Institution to be officially gazetted to enable it to play a greater role in combating harmful cultural practices.
For survivors, the campaign against FGM remains deeply personal.
Jebtoek Florence, who underwent FGM in 1972 at the age of 17, described the experience as one of the most traumatic moments of her life.
She recalled nearly losing her life after suffering severe bleeding following the procedure.
"I bled so much, I fainted almost to death. If my father had not come to help me, I would have lost my life," Florence said.
She said the physical and emotional scars remained with her long after the procedure.
"It is the worst practice. It should be erased from the face of the earth because it kills," she added.
Community leaders identified education as one of the most effective tools for ending FGM.
Stephen Anguria, a cultural leader from Bukwo, said educated girls are less likely to accept harmful traditional practices.
"When girls are educated and somebody has finished university, it becomes difficult for her to lie down and be cut," Anguria said.
Stakeholders called for increased investment in schools, particularly in vulnerable border communities, alongside sustained public awareness campaigns.
They also welcomed the proposed East African FGM Bill, saying a regional framework is essential because both victims and perpetrators operate across national borders.
Leaders from Bukwo and Kapchorwa stressed that while Uganda has made considerable progress, eliminating FGM will require stronger collaboration between Uganda and Kenya, cultural institutions, security agencies, government agencies and local communities.
They said the ultimate goal is not only to prosecute offenders but also to transform attitudes and safeguard the dignity, health and rights of women and girls across the region.
