Kenyan Woman in Pain After She was Forcibly Circumcised by Husband of 12 Years

A woman in Kandara, Murang’a County is nursing wounds in her private parts after she was forcibly circumcised by her husband and his friends. 

30-year-old Hellen Wangui told journalists that her husband of 12 years joined a secret Kikuyu sect a few months ago.

He was ordered to perform a ritual where he slaughtered a sheep in the company of other sect members, after which he demanded that she and her two young daughters undergo female circumcision as the faith does not allow men to live with uncircumcised women in the same house.

Wangui declined his demands and reported the matter to the area chief, who dismissed her plea.

“He told me that I was not the first woman to be circumcised so I should just accept it for the sake of peace,” Wangui narrated.

Wangui says her husband ambushed her on the night of June 9th in the company of 30 other men where they stripped her naked and cut off her private parts in the cruelest way.

“My husband forced me to open the door for him. He came with other men who caught me by the neck, stripped me then began pricking me with needles on my private parts. They used their nails, a knife to cut off my private parts,” Wangui recounted.

“They said they want to circumcise me so that I can become a ‘complete woman’ as per their practices.”

A medical report from Murang’a Level 5 Hospital where she sought treatment indicates that Wangui underwent female genital mutilation (FGM).

Since the harrowing incident, the mother of two says she has been experiencing pain, bleeding on her private parts, and is struggling to walk.

Although her husband and her accomplices were arrested after the incident, Wangui still fears for her life and those of her daughters. She is seeking protection from the government.

“I fear for my safety and my children’s because the man might decide to harm us and he could be tracking us everywhere we go,” she remarked.