Rehema: A brave FGM survivor championing women’s rights and economic empowerment in Eastern Kenya 

Sitting beneath an acacia tree in the village of Abagadera, Garissa County, eastern Kenya, a warm breeze and the shade offers a welcome reprieve from the heavy afternoon heat.   

Here, Rehema – a 53-year-old woman of Somali origin with a gentle demeanour – shares her powerful story of survival, resilience, and transformation in a region where life is particularly harsh for women and girls. 

A mother of eight, Rehema’s children range in age from 10 to 30 years. She has endured profound loss, having buried three children and her husband, who passed away when her youngest was still an infant. Like many women in her community, Rehema has faced multiple layers of adversity – harmful cultural practices, economic hardship, and the growing impacts of climate change on the arid land she depends on for food.  One of the most traumatic experiences of her life was undergoing Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) as a child. Rehema vividly recalls the pain and horror: the cutting, the application of dung to the wound, her legs tied together, and the isolation that followed.

“I was left alone, day and night, with no one to comfort me,” she recounts. “Even going to the toilet was unbearable.”

Despite knowing the trauma of FGM firsthand, Rehema felt powerless against the weight of tradition and pressure to conform and allowed her eldest daughter, Hadija, to be cut, a decision she deeply regrets. 

Her journey of empowerment began when she joined the Kamuthe Women’s Rights Network, part of ActionAid’s Women’s Rights Programme, supported by Irish Aid. Through the Network, Rehema learned that FGM is banned in Kenya. She and other women began to challenge the deeply rooted cultural acceptance of the practice, using awareness-raising activities and building both their individual and collective voices. 

Their efforts extended to engaging male leaders in the community. Through open dialogue and behaviour change sessions, these leaders have come to recognise the dangers of FGM and the long-term harm it causes women and girls. 

The practice of FGM in Abagadera has now sharply declined, and Rehema credits this progress to the collective strength of empowered women.  Her daughter Hadija has also become a passionate advocate for girls’ rights.

She often reminds her mother, “you allowed me to be cut. I will never let that happen to my daughters.” 

The Network provided business training and connected them with other women-led income-generating projects. 

The women now operate as a cooperative, taking turns to sell five to seven mats each before passing the opportunity to the next woman on the list. Rehema was among the first to benefit, using the profits from her seven mats to pay her children’s school fees. Though modest—approximately KSh 1,000 (€6) per mat—the income goes a long way in a region where resources are scarce. 

Rehema also launched her first solo economic venture: a kitchen garden using drought-resistant seeds to grow kale, parsley, spinach, and cowpeas. This not only feeds her family but also provides extra produce for the local market. 

The women’s latest initiative is especially exciting, a shared community apiary with 17 beehives. This project will benefit 27 women and stands as a symbol of their collective pride, determination, and hope for the future. 

For now, Rehema and the women of Abagadera feel empowered and equipped to shape better lives for themselves and their families. They are committed to sustaining and expanding their progress—building on their shared strength to create a community where every girl and woman can thrive.