Health facilities in Amudat District are recording a resurgence of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) cases, with many girls now crossing into Kenya to undergo the practice in secret before returning home to give birth.
Midwives say they are seeing more young mothers with fresh FGM scars, some as young as 14 to 18 years old. The injuries are causing obstructed labor, severe bleeding, infections, and emergency episiotomies during delivery.
At St Francis of Assisi Kosike Health Centre III, health workers say 4 out of 10 mothers under 19 arrive with fresh cuts. Between January and April this year, at least 18 victims were recorded.
Cathy Juliet Aloko, a Clinical Officer at Kosike Health Centre III, said that they have adopted a new system of capturing data from victims delivering at the facility. She said the survey helps establish actual numbers without scaring victims away from seeking care.
Previously, open interviews discouraged many women from delivering at the facility for fear of being reported. Aloko explained that girls with FGM often cannot deliver normally because the vaginal opening is too small, and midwives have to perform bilateral episiotomies to create enough space for the baby.
“Sometimes mothers attempt delivery at home, and when they fail, they are brought to the facility at a critical stage, having lost a lot of blood,” she said. Aloko said that more awareness is needed on the dangers of FGM, which continues to put mothers’ lives at risk amid already limited obstetric care in the district.
Mary Goretti Cheluk, a midwife at Amudat Hospital, recalled saving a mother referred from Kenya in critical condition. With no other staff available during heavy rain, she called a police officer on duty to assist with the delivery.
“The muscles were stressed. I had to conduct a bilateral episiotomy to help the baby come out since she was already in distress,” Cheluk said. Health workers say the practice has also fueled forced marriages, as girls who undergo FGM are considered mature and are married off immediately.
A 2013 law banned FGM in Uganda, but a crackdown has pushed the practice underground. Authorities say local leaders often conceal cases, making enforcement difficult. Simon Opolot, Amudat Grade One Magistrate, said the community continues to carry out FGM in secret.
“The community has chosen to conspire and handle the FGM practices in hiding, making it difficult to eliminate the vice,” Opolot said.
Mt Moroto Regional Police Commander, Edirisa Kyeyune acknowledged the resurgence but said most cases go unreported. Kyeyune warned that anyone found practicing FGM will face the law and urged leaders to cooperate with the police.
“No one has ever given reports about FGM,” Kyeyune said during a police baraza organized by the International Justice Mission in Karita Sub-County last week. Local leaders and elders at the meeting insisted the practice had reduced and said they had joined campaigns against it.
Officials also noted a new trend of FGM among women aged 45 and above, tied to traditional initiation ceremonies.
