0:00:02 > 0:00:06This programme contains some scenes which some viewers may find upsetting
0:00:08 > 0:00:09Wow.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12'I've spent time in many different countries....'
0:00:13 > 0:00:15What a place to be!
0:00:15 > 0:00:19'..getting to know people from vastly different cultures.'
0:00:19 > 0:00:23So do the men sew as well? Will your husband sew?
0:00:23 > 0:00:25SHE LAUGHS
0:00:25 > 0:00:27'And one thing that's often struck me...
0:00:29 > 0:00:32'..is that the roles men and women play in society
0:00:32 > 0:00:35'give great insight into their way of life..
0:00:38 > 0:00:39OK.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42'And how the everyday roles of women in particular
0:00:42 > 0:00:45'reveal a society's values,
0:00:45 > 0:00:48'whether they be determined by religion, status...
0:00:50 > 0:00:52'..or tradition.'
0:00:53 > 0:00:56As a white, middle-class girl growing up in Britain,
0:00:56 > 0:00:58I know that I was enormously privileged.
0:00:58 > 0:01:03I was free to make choices, to be independent, to state opinions.
0:01:03 > 0:01:06But for many of the world's women, perhaps the majority,
0:01:06 > 0:01:09circumstances are very different.
0:01:12 > 0:01:17'So in this series I've travelled to three very different places
0:01:17 > 0:01:21'where the roles of women are exceptional, complex
0:01:21 > 0:01:23'and even extreme.
0:01:25 > 0:01:29'The matrilineal Khasi people in northern India,
0:01:29 > 0:01:32'where it's the women who take on positions of power.'
0:01:32 > 0:01:35You're like a very strict headmistress.
0:01:41 > 0:01:46'The intensely private ultra-orthodox Haredim in Israel,
0:01:46 > 0:01:50'where women's lives are governed by strict religious laws.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58'But first, I'm in Kenya in East Africa,
0:01:58 > 0:02:01'where women are caught right on the fault line
0:02:01 > 0:02:04'between age-old tradition and the modern world.'
0:02:05 > 0:02:08How do you go and find a man?
0:02:08 > 0:02:11LAUGHTER
0:02:18 > 0:02:20Is this dangerous for you, Susan?
0:02:59 > 0:03:02We're driving south-west across the country,
0:03:02 > 0:03:04right up to the Tanzanian border,
0:03:04 > 0:03:08and that area is the heartland
0:03:08 > 0:03:11of a people known as the Kuria.
0:03:16 > 0:03:20They're quite a small number of people.
0:03:20 > 0:03:22About half a million altogether.
0:03:24 > 0:03:28'Traditionally, the Kuria were cattle-herding warriors.
0:03:28 > 0:03:32'Today, they are generally agricultural crop farmers,
0:03:32 > 0:03:38'but cattle remain important as currency, especially in marriage.'
0:03:38 > 0:03:42They're polygamous, so the men will marry a number of wives.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46But the thing that's really fascinating
0:03:46 > 0:03:51is that they practise woman to woman marriage.
0:03:53 > 0:03:55So, why do they do it?
0:03:56 > 0:03:58Is it a sexual thing?
0:03:59 > 0:04:04What advantages are there to a community for women to marry women?
0:04:10 > 0:04:12Hi!
0:04:14 > 0:04:17'After an eight-hour drive from Kenya's capital Nairobi,
0:04:17 > 0:04:20'we're finally in Kuria district.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22'Home for the next three weeks.
0:04:35 > 0:04:39'In its fertile hills nestle small farming communities.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46'And it's on one of these farms that I've been invited to stay
0:04:46 > 0:04:52'with a large extended family that practises woman to woman marriage.'
0:04:52 > 0:04:53This is where Lillian lives.
0:04:53 > 0:04:55- That's the house over there.- OK.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58- And, actually, this is the family farm.- This one here?- Yeah.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01- So this must be family members.- OK.
0:05:01 > 0:05:02Hello! Jambo!
0:05:03 > 0:05:06'Peter Murimi is helping us access this community.
0:05:06 > 0:05:11'He's a journalist in Nairobi but is Kuria and grew up here.'
0:05:11 > 0:05:14As you'll find out, it's really a big family.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17When you say a big family, how many people?
0:05:17 > 0:05:20I think 20, easily.
0:05:20 > 0:05:21- Really?- Yeah.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29Everyone looking shy.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35'The family is headed by husband Mosenda.'
0:05:36 > 0:05:38Good to meet you.
0:05:38 > 0:05:40'And wife Paulina.'
0:05:43 > 0:05:45Yeah, Kate.
0:05:45 > 0:05:47'While Mosenda has taken extra wives,
0:05:47 > 0:05:51'what's extraordinary here is that so has his wife Paulina.'
0:05:51 > 0:05:52Paulina?
0:05:52 > 0:05:54Paulina.
0:05:54 > 0:05:58'The tradition where women marry women is called nyumba mboke.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02'Paulina is married to two women.'
0:06:04 > 0:06:07- Are you Lillian?- Yeah. - I've heard much about you.
0:06:11 > 0:06:16'Her first wife is Lillian, who's now 30 and half Paulina's age.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21'And her second wife is 21-year-old Faith.'
0:06:23 > 0:06:28You can teach me everything about how this family works.
0:06:29 > 0:06:33'Woman to woman marriages exist across Africa.
0:06:36 > 0:06:41'In this village, at least ten of the 100 families are nyumba mboke.'
0:06:43 > 0:06:46A-ha. So this is the kitchen here.
0:06:48 > 0:06:50So what is cooking?
0:06:50 > 0:06:52- Chai.- Chai?- Yeah.- A-ha.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56'This farm is made up of eight separate households.'
0:06:56 > 0:06:58So this is your son's house?
0:06:58 > 0:07:01Big. The boys get the big houses.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04'But all of them connect back to Mosenda.
0:07:07 > 0:07:11'It's an incredibly complicated web of relationships
0:07:11 > 0:07:14'that's going to take some working out.'
0:07:14 > 0:07:17So, if I get this right...
0:07:17 > 0:07:20Paulina is your wife.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24She's the first wife.
0:07:24 > 0:07:26You took a second wife, is that right?
0:07:26 > 0:07:29Now, you see,
0:07:29 > 0:07:32my husband would say that one wife is quite enough trouble.
0:07:32 > 0:07:37Did you, then stop at two, or did you have any more wives?
0:07:37 > 0:07:39LAUGHTER
0:07:39 > 0:07:42How many more? Two more? So you have four altogether?
0:07:43 > 0:07:45Mosenda, how do you have time?
0:07:45 > 0:07:47LAUGHTER
0:08:03 > 0:08:09So after you married, when did you have your first child?
0:08:29 > 0:08:33And is it very important
0:08:33 > 0:08:35for you to have a son?
0:08:52 > 0:08:55OK. So I'm beginning to understand now.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59So because your son had died,
0:08:59 > 0:09:03he wouldn't bring a daughter-in-law here
0:09:03 > 0:09:07and so that's when you decided...
0:09:07 > 0:09:09you needed a nyumba mboke.
0:09:09 > 0:09:11Have I understood that right?
0:09:28 > 0:09:32'In the polygamist system here each wife looks after her own household.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35'Mosenda has sons and daughters-in-law
0:09:35 > 0:09:39'through his other wives, but because Paulina's only son died,
0:09:39 > 0:09:43'she's been left alone without any support as she gets older.'
0:09:45 > 0:09:50When you decided you wanted, or you needed a nyumba mboke,
0:09:50 > 0:09:52how did you meet Lillian?
0:10:00 > 0:10:02Then, Paulina,
0:10:02 > 0:10:07you decided to get a second nyumba mboke...
0:10:08 > 0:10:10..who is Faith.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28'So it sounds like Lillian and Faith are essentially replacement
0:10:28 > 0:10:33'daughters-in-law, brought into the household to provide physical help
0:10:33 > 0:10:37'and especially to bear sons - male heirs for Paulina.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42'I can understand what Paulina gets out of this,
0:10:42 > 0:10:45'but it's less clear what's in it for the younger women.'
0:10:46 > 0:10:49- Oh, Faith, is this your room? - Yes.
0:10:49 > 0:10:51Hi.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55Hello. Hello, little person.
0:10:55 > 0:10:57So this is where you stay?
0:10:58 > 0:11:00And who is this?
0:11:00 > 0:11:01Robi?
0:11:01 > 0:11:03Hi, Robi.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06And, Faith, who is Robi's father?
0:11:08 > 0:11:10No father? OK.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14'Like so many young nyumba mboke brides,
0:11:14 > 0:11:16'Faith was made to marry Paulina
0:11:16 > 0:11:19'because she got pregnant out of wedlock.
0:11:19 > 0:11:21'But I know this wasn't the case for Lillian,
0:11:21 > 0:11:25'who's lived here as Paulina's wife for 11 years.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29When you became Paulina's nyumba mboke...
0:11:30 > 0:11:34..what is the arrangement?
0:11:42 > 0:11:45And how old were you...
0:11:45 > 0:11:48when your parents
0:11:48 > 0:11:51arranged this marriage with Paulina?
0:12:03 > 0:12:09So, Lillian, are you telling me that you didn't want to be
0:12:09 > 0:12:11a nyumba mboke?
0:12:20 > 0:12:26Because if I understand it right, if you had married a man,
0:12:26 > 0:12:32your parents would still have had a dowry for you.
0:12:32 > 0:12:37So why did they choose for you to marry a woman
0:12:37 > 0:12:39and not a man?
0:12:54 > 0:12:58You have to continue the family line,
0:12:58 > 0:13:01so do you have children with Mosenda?
0:13:03 > 0:13:04No?
0:13:04 > 0:13:05OK.
0:13:05 > 0:13:07SHE LAUGHS
0:13:07 > 0:13:09So how...?
0:13:26 > 0:13:29If, like, if you meet a nice lover,
0:13:29 > 0:13:33someone who looks after you,
0:13:33 > 0:13:36who doesn't just get you pregnant all the time,
0:13:36 > 0:13:39can you leave this family
0:13:39 > 0:13:45and start a proper relationship with him?
0:14:13 > 0:14:16'It's pretty shocking when you hear
0:14:16 > 0:14:19'from a girl's mouth that she was,'
0:14:19 > 0:14:23to all intents and purposes, sold.
0:14:23 > 0:14:26That a daughter here is a commodity.
0:14:34 > 0:14:36'And in Lillian's case,
0:14:36 > 0:14:41'she was worth more as a wife, if that's the right word,'
0:14:41 > 0:14:46to another woman than she was as a wife to a husband,
0:14:46 > 0:14:49and that she had no choice in that matter.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56'These nyumba mboke relationships aren't sexual.
0:14:56 > 0:14:58'Lillian is heterosexual,
0:14:58 > 0:15:01'but if she were to ever fall in love with a man,
0:15:01 > 0:15:05'she'd never be able to leave Paulina for a relationship with him.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09'To me that seems very sad.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13'But perhaps that's just my Western romanticism.'
0:15:23 > 0:15:25So this? This one?
0:15:31 > 0:15:33Do you take the whole thing? No.
0:15:33 > 0:15:35You have all this?
0:15:35 > 0:15:36No. Really?
0:15:39 > 0:15:41OK. So.. And then beans?
0:15:44 > 0:15:49'Within this community, there are rigid roles for boys and girls.'
0:15:50 > 0:15:51There we are.
0:15:52 > 0:15:54We're doing a good job.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58'Sons never leave the family home.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01'They provide daughters-in-law to help ageing parents.'
0:16:01 > 0:16:04That's for you. Who are we missing now?
0:16:04 > 0:16:06'And inherit their father's land.'
0:16:06 > 0:16:09So this boy? Yeah?
0:16:09 > 0:16:11There we go. That's for you.
0:16:11 > 0:16:15'Kuria girls, on the other hand, must leave home when they marry
0:16:15 > 0:16:18'to bear children for the husband's family.'
0:16:22 > 0:16:25Here you are, little one. That's for you.
0:16:29 > 0:16:32'At the end of my first day on Mosenda's farm,
0:16:32 > 0:16:35'I'm left wondering whether there are any positives
0:16:35 > 0:16:37'for the young nyumba mboke brides.'
0:17:02 > 0:17:07'The nyumba mboke system seems to be firmly rooted in this community.
0:17:10 > 0:17:14'But there's another tradition here which is even more entrenched.
0:17:17 > 0:17:21'Since the time of their ancient ancestors,
0:17:21 > 0:17:24'Kuria people have circumcised both boys and girls
0:17:24 > 0:17:28'as an important rite of passage into adulthood.'
0:17:36 > 0:17:39'In this predominantly Christian area,
0:17:39 > 0:17:42'the Church is at the heart of current debate
0:17:42 > 0:17:44'around female circumcision,
0:17:44 > 0:17:47'also known as female genital mutilation.
0:17:47 > 0:17:51'Since 2011, FGM has been illegal in Kenya.'
0:18:05 > 0:18:10'Lillian, like many women from her generation, has been circumcised.'
0:18:10 > 0:18:15The pastor talked about FGM today.
0:18:15 > 0:18:17What do you think the congregation,
0:18:17 > 0:18:21the men and the women that were there, thought of that message?
0:18:29 > 0:18:35So do you think that attitudes are starting to change?
0:19:05 > 0:19:09'I'm here in Kuria at the start of the boys' circumcision season,
0:19:09 > 0:19:14'which usually lasts for two weeks and happens every other year.'
0:19:14 > 0:19:15Hi!
0:19:17 > 0:19:19Just to get this straight,
0:19:19 > 0:19:24the circumcision of boys is completely legal in Kenya, isn't it?
0:19:24 > 0:19:26Completely.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29Erm, and the circumcision of girls...
0:19:29 > 0:19:31is now against the law?
0:19:31 > 0:19:34It is illegal to circumcise a girl.
0:19:35 > 0:19:38'Although illegal, it's been reported that FGM
0:19:38 > 0:19:41'still takes place in this community.
0:19:41 > 0:19:45'Pete has been campaigning against female circumcision since 2001
0:19:45 > 0:19:50'and he's keen to show me just how deep-rooted it is in Kuria culture.'
0:19:50 > 0:19:54From the outside, it seems, you know, so simple.
0:19:54 > 0:19:56FGM's a brutal practice.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59It's mutilating...
0:20:00 > 0:20:02..and effectively abuse of a minor.
0:20:02 > 0:20:04It shouldn't happen.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08But it gets more complicated
0:20:08 > 0:20:12when you begin to understand the custom,
0:20:12 > 0:20:15- the significance of that custom. - It is.
0:20:23 > 0:20:25Circumcised?
0:20:25 > 0:20:26Oh, poor little things.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28Out the right,
0:20:28 > 0:20:31you've got boys wearing, kind of, capes and bleeding.
0:20:32 > 0:20:35'We've come across a male circumcision procession
0:20:35 > 0:20:38'and, as it's legal, it's being celebrated
0:20:38 > 0:20:41'in a very public and noisy ceremony.'
0:20:41 > 0:20:42CHILDREN SCREAM AND CHANT
0:20:42 > 0:20:46Can you tell me what has happened? Oh, these poor little boys!
0:20:46 > 0:20:48Oh, my goodness.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51- They have been circumcised. - Did you do the circumcising?
0:20:51 > 0:20:55- Yeah.- Can you tell me the importance of this ceremony?
0:20:59 > 0:21:01Now they've become men? OK, OK.
0:21:01 > 0:21:05Oh, my goodness, they do look like they're very much in pain.
0:21:09 > 0:21:11THEY ALL SCREAM AND CHANT
0:21:21 > 0:21:23So, did you go through this ceremony?
0:21:23 > 0:21:26- Yeah.- You did?- Yeah.
0:21:26 > 0:21:29You look like the memories are coming flooding back.
0:21:33 > 0:21:35Really?
0:21:39 > 0:21:41When it happened to you,
0:21:41 > 0:21:46is there a real pressure on you to be, kind of, as brave as possible?
0:21:51 > 0:21:53- Did you cry?- No.- Didn't you?
0:22:19 > 0:22:23From what you were telling me about the huge importance
0:22:23 > 0:22:27and significance of circumcision for men...
0:22:28 > 0:22:32..does that go some way into explaining why there...
0:22:33 > 0:22:35..are still girls being circumcised,
0:22:35 > 0:22:38despite the fact that it's against the law?
0:22:38 > 0:22:44The issue with FGM is about identity and for very many Kuria people,
0:22:44 > 0:22:46it could be men and women alike,
0:22:46 > 0:22:49they feel if there is no circumcision for men
0:22:49 > 0:22:53and FGM for girls, like, they lose a bit of their identity.
0:22:53 > 0:22:56- OK.- So that's creating some resistance.
0:22:56 > 0:23:00'Because boys are seen as more important in Kuria culture,
0:23:00 > 0:23:04'they're always circumcised a few days before the girls.
0:23:10 > 0:23:13'So with the male circumcision season already under way...
0:23:16 > 0:23:20'..there's a very real possibility that Kuria's girls will be next.
0:23:27 > 0:23:31'The region's anti-FGM movement is out in force.
0:23:38 > 0:23:44'The organiser of the rally is a Kuria woman - Susan Matinde Thomas.'
0:23:45 > 0:23:50Was there a reason that you particularly wanted to do this
0:23:50 > 0:23:54very loud demonstration now?
0:24:34 > 0:24:37'We've heard that more efforts are being made
0:24:37 > 0:24:40'by the authorities this year to clamp down on FGM.'
0:24:50 > 0:24:54'And police patrol vehicles are flanking Susan's campaign bus.'
0:24:56 > 0:24:59Can you tell me what you think about this procession?
0:25:02 > 0:25:04Were you cut?
0:25:09 > 0:25:12Is there anybody here who wants to be cut?
0:25:14 > 0:25:15No-one?
0:25:15 > 0:25:18And is that because of school? Yeah. Yeah.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22'From what I'm hearing, it seems that the law is working here,
0:25:22 > 0:25:26'and this community really is buying into the change.'
0:25:26 > 0:25:30And so no girls in this village will be cut this season?
0:25:36 > 0:25:39How will you feel if you have a wife who is very strong,
0:25:39 > 0:25:42- has had a good education? - I will be happy.
0:25:42 > 0:25:46You will be happy? Remember he said this. You were witnesses.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49'But Pete's been speaking to some young men who have a different
0:25:49 > 0:25:53'take on things, and he's asked us to keep our camera at a distance
0:25:53 > 0:25:55'so we don't draw attention to them.'
0:25:55 > 0:26:00The ladies who were telling me that the girls will not be cut
0:26:00 > 0:26:04in this village, is that true or not true?
0:26:13 > 0:26:15OK.
0:26:15 > 0:26:20And do you know anyone in this village who maybe, you think,
0:26:20 > 0:26:22might be circumcised?
0:26:22 > 0:26:23Any girl?
0:26:30 > 0:26:31How many?
0:26:33 > 0:26:34OK. Thank you.
0:26:37 > 0:26:40Wow. OK. That was unexpected.
0:26:40 > 0:26:44It felt like everyone was very on message in this village.
0:26:44 > 0:26:46Everybody was really against it.
0:26:47 > 0:26:51'So now I'm left wondering whether this community
0:26:51 > 0:26:53'will act in accordance with the law,
0:26:53 > 0:26:56'or revert back to the tradition
0:26:56 > 0:26:59'that has defined Kuria for centuries.'
0:27:13 > 0:27:17'It's 6:00am and I'm back with Lillian.
0:27:18 > 0:27:21'And some of her nyumba mboke friends.
0:27:21 > 0:27:23'They are a close-knit group.
0:27:23 > 0:27:27'We're heading to work on a farm an hour and a half's walk away.
0:27:28 > 0:27:31'A journey they make almost every day.'
0:27:47 > 0:27:49No.
0:27:49 > 0:27:50No babies.
0:27:50 > 0:27:52They're too scary.
0:27:53 > 0:27:55Too much trouble.
0:27:55 > 0:27:57LAUGHTER
0:27:58 > 0:28:02'I want to understand how nyumba mboke women survive financially...
0:28:05 > 0:28:09'..without a husband to help support their families.
0:28:17 > 0:28:20So, Dorica, this one is bad?
0:28:20 > 0:28:23- This one is bad.- That one's bad. I'm taking that one out.
0:28:23 > 0:28:25- But this one is good, yes? - Yeah.
0:28:25 > 0:28:28- And this one is good?- Yeah. - Quite confusing.
0:28:31 > 0:28:35How many people are you supporting on the money you earn?
0:28:35 > 0:28:36- Six.- Six people.
0:28:36 > 0:28:39So that's you, your four children...
0:28:39 > 0:28:42- And my five kids.- Your five kids.
0:28:42 > 0:28:43Yeah.
0:28:52 > 0:28:56Is there anyone else in the family that is also working
0:28:56 > 0:28:59to help you... to help you bring in money?
0:29:00 > 0:29:02- So it's only you?- Yeah.
0:29:08 > 0:29:11So, as a nyumba mboke,
0:29:11 > 0:29:16I think one of your main duties is to have children.
0:29:16 > 0:29:18Talk me through this.
0:29:18 > 0:29:20How do you go and find a man?
0:29:20 > 0:29:22LAUGHTER
0:30:01 > 0:30:05Would you want your daughters to be nyumba mboke?
0:30:08 > 0:30:09Why not?
0:30:27 > 0:30:32If any of you could change the law,
0:30:32 > 0:30:35would you make the nyumba mboke system illegal?
0:30:36 > 0:30:39You would? Would you? Really?
0:30:39 > 0:30:41Do you think it will change?
0:30:58 > 0:31:01'While cultural traditions are being challenged in Kuria
0:31:01 > 0:31:05'and there is a growing movement against nyumba mboke,
0:31:05 > 0:31:08'the current focus is on FGM.
0:31:13 > 0:31:17'While the Kenyan government supports the circumcision of boys,
0:31:17 > 0:31:20'even claiming it's helping in the fight against HIV...
0:31:20 > 0:31:22CHEERING
0:31:22 > 0:31:28'..the illegal circumcision of girls has no medical benefit whatsoever.
0:31:28 > 0:31:30'The opposite, in fact.
0:31:30 > 0:31:33'It can be life-threatening.
0:31:35 > 0:31:39'The practice of FGM can range from the removal of the clitoris...
0:31:40 > 0:31:43'..to the most extreme procedure,
0:31:43 > 0:31:46'which reduces the entrance to the vagina.
0:31:47 > 0:31:51'It creates all kinds of horrific medical problems,
0:31:51 > 0:31:54'sometimes resulting in death.'
0:31:55 > 0:31:56Susan!
0:31:58 > 0:32:02'I'm meeting up with Susan, who led the anti-FGM rally,
0:32:02 > 0:32:06'to find out why she's prepared to put herself at risk
0:32:06 > 0:32:09'in her fight to stop FGM.'
0:32:21 > 0:32:24Can you remember what...
0:32:24 > 0:32:27that circumcision was like?
0:33:43 > 0:33:49'Like so many women, Susan's FGM has resulted in lifelong problems.
0:33:51 > 0:33:54'After nearly dying from extreme blood loss,
0:33:54 > 0:33:58'she was so mutilated that she had to have surgery.'
0:34:19 > 0:34:24'At least 200 million women and girls alive today
0:34:24 > 0:34:30'across 30 countries have undergone female genital mutilation.
0:34:34 > 0:34:38'Here in Kenya, numbers are slowly going down.
0:34:38 > 0:34:44'But those most at risk are girls in poor rural areas like Kuria.
0:35:01 > 0:35:04'We've been travelling along this road almost every day
0:35:04 > 0:35:09'but this morning there seems to be a lot more activity than usual.
0:35:11 > 0:35:14'Samson Morua is in charge of our security.'
0:35:15 > 0:35:19Did you see that group of people up above the road?
0:35:20 > 0:35:23And do you think that was a circumcision party?
0:35:24 > 0:35:26And do you think it was for a girl?
0:35:27 > 0:35:30What made you think it was for girls?
0:35:40 > 0:35:44So, Peter, do you think this is now, basically,
0:35:44 > 0:35:46the start...
0:35:46 > 0:35:48of the female...
0:35:48 > 0:35:51circumcision season?
0:35:51 > 0:35:52Yes.
0:35:52 > 0:35:54Hm. OK.
0:36:01 > 0:36:06'It really is shocking, despite it being against the law,
0:36:06 > 0:36:09'it looks like FGM is still here.
0:36:15 > 0:36:18'As we reach the outskirts of a small town,
0:36:18 > 0:36:22'we notice lots of young girls being rushed around on motorbikes.
0:36:27 > 0:36:30'The atmosphere feels very tense.'
0:36:31 > 0:36:35So, I am trying to understand
0:36:35 > 0:36:38why circumcision for girls
0:36:38 > 0:36:40is so important.
0:36:40 > 0:36:45'Samson's warned us to be careful and to keep our camera discreet.'
0:36:49 > 0:36:53I don't know whether there is someone, whether I can talk to you,
0:36:53 > 0:36:55as young men, or...
0:36:55 > 0:36:59erm, if there are any women that I can talk to.
0:37:00 > 0:37:05Can you explain to me why you will even break the law to do this
0:37:05 > 0:37:08because it's so important for your custom?
0:38:03 > 0:38:05MEN SHOUT
0:38:28 > 0:38:30Let's go. Let's go.
0:38:30 > 0:38:32Let's go. Let's go.
0:38:32 > 0:38:35Let's go. Let's go, let's go, let's go.
0:38:36 > 0:38:38Let's go, let's go, let's go.
0:38:59 > 0:39:01'From what those young men told me,
0:39:01 > 0:39:05'FGM's much more than a rite of passage.
0:39:05 > 0:39:10'It sounds like it's about men controlling women's sexuality.
0:39:11 > 0:39:13'And it looks like the change in the law
0:39:13 > 0:39:16'has simply driven FGM underground.'
0:39:21 > 0:39:23They're willing to go to war...
0:39:24 > 0:39:27- ..to...- To let FGM continue. - To let FGM continue.
0:39:27 > 0:39:28Wow.
0:39:42 > 0:39:46'We've driven to the local Kuria East police station.'
0:39:46 > 0:39:49- Should I come with you or...? - Yes, please.- OK.
0:39:49 > 0:39:53'But they've asked us not to film inside the building.'
0:39:59 > 0:40:01'Tensions are running so high,
0:40:01 > 0:40:04'the local police chief has said we should leave the area.'
0:40:07 > 0:40:12Why is he asking us to be escorted out of town by a police car?
0:40:35 > 0:40:39Clearly, attitudes to FGM are changing.
0:40:39 > 0:40:41But...
0:40:42 > 0:40:44..it is going to take time.
0:40:45 > 0:40:47Oh, God, it's really complicated.
0:40:51 > 0:40:53TEARFULLY: I'm sorry, Pete.
0:40:53 > 0:40:55Can you stop?
0:41:02 > 0:41:04Walk with me just for two minutes.
0:41:06 > 0:41:09'Pete's been campaigning against FGM for years.
0:41:10 > 0:41:14'So what we've witnessed today is particularly hard on him.
0:41:14 > 0:41:17THEY BOTH CRY
0:41:36 > 0:41:42I can completely understand why, for you, it's so frustrating
0:41:42 > 0:41:43and...and...
0:42:07 > 0:42:10'I'm meeting the Deputy County Commissioner for Kuria West,
0:42:10 > 0:42:12'Sebastien Okiring,
0:42:12 > 0:42:17'to find out what his department is doing to tackle FGM.'
0:42:18 > 0:42:22As a security team in Kuria West, what did we do?
0:42:23 > 0:42:26We made arrangements to remove the circumcisers...
0:42:27 > 0:42:29- ..from the society. - But not all of them.
0:42:29 > 0:42:32Of course, we cannot remove all of them.
0:42:32 > 0:42:35So we have made an attempt to remove the circumcisers.
0:42:35 > 0:42:39We have made an attempt to arrest the elders who propagate FGM.
0:42:40 > 0:42:43These things persist for commercial reasons.
0:42:43 > 0:42:46- Commercial reasons?- Commercial reasons.- Why do you say that?
0:42:46 > 0:42:52I say that because the elders are very keen on this rite of passage
0:42:52 > 0:42:54- because they make money out of it. - How?
0:42:54 > 0:42:57For every girl circumcised,
0:42:57 > 0:43:00they charge 1,000 Kenyan shillings.
0:43:00 > 0:43:03The elders charge... So if you have 3,000 girls,
0:43:03 > 0:43:07that is a whopping 3 million shillings within one month.
0:43:07 > 0:43:10The elders make the poor families believe
0:43:10 > 0:43:15that if they circumcise their girl at age 12 to 14,
0:43:15 > 0:43:18they are able to marry her off and get ten herds of cattle.
0:43:18 > 0:43:24The existence of the council of elders makes this thing persist.
0:43:24 > 0:43:25OK.
0:43:28 > 0:43:32'It's the clan elders who protect Kuria culture and traditions.
0:43:33 > 0:43:39'And it seems that it's also the elders who are perpetuating FGM.
0:43:44 > 0:43:49'Pete's persuaded a local council of elders to meet us.'
0:43:49 > 0:43:51Oh, my goodness, look at this!
0:43:51 > 0:43:53This is a welcoming party.
0:43:53 > 0:43:55Oh, my word!
0:43:56 > 0:44:00'This welcoming ceremony is part of Kuria's ancient religion,
0:44:00 > 0:44:04'which is ruled over by their God, Eresa.'
0:44:04 > 0:44:07It's a marriage proposal. It's enough to turn a girl's head.
0:44:14 > 0:44:16'And, according to his believers,
0:44:16 > 0:44:20'Eresa has the power to curse those who are not circumcised
0:44:20 > 0:44:22'or stand in his way.'
0:44:34 > 0:44:39I wanted to ask you about the role of women in Kuria society.
0:44:39 > 0:44:45For example, we have the council of elders here, and they are all men.
0:44:45 > 0:44:48Do you think women are wise enough
0:44:48 > 0:44:52to be consulted on everyday life,
0:44:52 > 0:44:56to ask their advice, in the way that people ask you?
0:44:58 > 0:45:00Who? The women.
0:45:08 > 0:45:10So who protects the women?
0:45:30 > 0:45:32Right.
0:45:41 > 0:45:45From what I believe, you agreed with the district officer
0:45:45 > 0:45:49that you would ask your gods
0:45:49 > 0:45:54whether to do female circumcision this year,
0:45:54 > 0:45:56this season, or not.
0:45:56 > 0:46:01Are you able to tell me what your God told you?
0:46:43 > 0:46:48'The elders hold enormous sway over their community and how it works
0:46:48 > 0:46:51'and are still clearly supporting FGM.
0:46:51 > 0:46:56'Since the police are conflicted about how to deal with it,
0:46:56 > 0:47:01'it seems to me that one of the few people actually taking a stand
0:47:01 > 0:47:04'is anti-FGM campaigner Susan Thomas.
0:47:06 > 0:47:09'Since the season began, she's been rescuing girls
0:47:09 > 0:47:12'at risk of circumcision and taking them to a safe house.
0:47:12 > 0:47:17'Tonight we're meeting her as she responds to another call for help.
0:47:36 > 0:47:39'What Susan's about to do is very dangerous
0:47:39 > 0:47:44'so she's paid for an armed police guard to be with her tonight.
0:47:58 > 0:48:00So we need to go? OK.
0:48:25 > 0:48:27Do we know how old she is?
0:48:32 > 0:48:3413 or 14? Oh, my goodness.
0:48:45 > 0:48:49Is the problem that her parents want her to be circumcised?
0:48:49 > 0:48:52The mother doesn't want her to be cut.
0:48:52 > 0:48:55Right. But other members of the family do?
0:48:55 > 0:48:58- The father does.- The father does.
0:48:58 > 0:48:59So, Susan...
0:49:00 > 0:49:05..this must be a huge risk for the mother as well,
0:49:05 > 0:49:08when her husband finds out what she's done.
0:49:59 > 0:50:01Have you ever done this before, Peter?
0:50:01 > 0:50:04No, no, this is the first time.
0:50:06 > 0:50:10There's a lot of anxiety because so many things could go wrong,
0:50:10 > 0:50:13- but here they come. Here they come. - They're coming? OK.
0:50:15 > 0:50:18Now, for obvious reasons,
0:50:18 > 0:50:20we will not be identifying the girl.
0:50:32 > 0:50:3320.
0:50:33 > 0:50:3520, 20.
0:51:33 > 0:51:36'We're returning to the village we visited early on
0:51:36 > 0:51:38'for Susan's anti-FGM rally...
0:51:39 > 0:51:44'..where everyone told us they were against female circumcision.
0:51:48 > 0:51:51'Michael Mhoji is on the council of elders
0:51:51 > 0:51:53'and he's got something to tell us.
0:52:11 > 0:52:14And have the police tried to stop you?
0:52:19 > 0:52:23So how many girls were circumcised at your place last night?
0:52:32 > 0:52:34- In one night?- Yeah.
0:52:49 > 0:52:52Do you do the circumcising of the girls
0:52:52 > 0:52:55or is it somebody else who comes in to do them?
0:53:02 > 0:53:05And because they are being...
0:53:05 > 0:53:10because the circumcisions are happening right by your house,
0:53:10 > 0:53:14and because you're on the council of elders,
0:53:14 > 0:53:17does that mean that you get paid for these circumcisions?
0:53:22 > 0:53:24How much?
0:53:26 > 0:53:28500 per girl?
0:53:28 > 0:53:30For one girl?
0:53:30 > 0:53:32500 for one girl. OK.
0:53:35 > 0:53:37Are they just from this village
0:53:37 > 0:53:40or do they come in from other villages as well?
0:53:51 > 0:53:55'I can't quite find the words to describe how I feel
0:53:55 > 0:53:59'after that conversation with Mhoji, who was so matter of fact,
0:53:59 > 0:54:01'and, worse, unashamed.
0:54:04 > 0:54:09'It probably shouldn't surprise and shock me, but it does.
0:54:09 > 0:54:13'The realisation that the village where so many people told me
0:54:13 > 0:54:19'early on during my time here that they wouldn't cut their girls,
0:54:19 > 0:54:24'has just circumcised 350 in one night.
0:54:25 > 0:54:28'It's incredibly difficult to come to terms with.
0:54:30 > 0:54:33'The only positive in all this
0:54:33 > 0:54:37'is that the circumcision season is nearly over.
0:54:37 > 0:54:40'Those girls that escaped being cut
0:54:40 > 0:54:44'are free of the risk of FGM for another two years.
0:54:51 > 0:54:56'Before I leave Kuria, I want to say goodbye to wonderful Lillian.
0:54:56 > 0:55:00'I've been invited to join her and some of her nyumba mboke friends...'
0:55:00 > 0:55:02Jambo.
0:55:02 > 0:55:04'..at a baby naming ceremony.
0:55:04 > 0:55:08'A way of welcoming a new child to the community.
0:55:16 > 0:55:21'Lillian and many women like her may have had to endure FGM
0:55:21 > 0:55:25'and may be the unwilling victims of woman to woman marriage...'
0:55:25 > 0:55:27She looks beautiful!
0:55:27 > 0:55:32'..but they also seem determined to strive for a better future.'
0:55:33 > 0:55:37Would you like your daughters, Christine and Alice,
0:55:37 > 0:55:41to have a different sort of life from yours?
0:55:50 > 0:55:52What is your ambition for them?
0:56:16 > 0:56:22This is clearly such a complex time in Kuria society.
0:56:22 > 0:56:25It really does feel like it is at a time of change.
0:56:28 > 0:56:33When there are people like the fabulously brave Susan,
0:56:33 > 0:56:37going out on the streets and talking to people.
0:56:39 > 0:56:44Women like Lillian, who will talk about their experiences
0:56:44 > 0:56:47and absolutely categorically say
0:56:47 > 0:56:50my girls are not going to be circumcised.
0:56:50 > 0:56:52There is definitely a movement.
0:56:53 > 0:56:56And I really get the feeling it's gathering momentum.
0:56:56 > 0:56:59What is holding it back, without question,
0:56:59 > 0:57:02are the old men - is the patriarchy.
0:57:02 > 0:57:04MUSIC
0:57:08 > 0:57:11But, anyone who can laugh
0:57:11 > 0:57:14when life is as tough as theirs,
0:57:14 > 0:57:18deserves absolute, ultimate respect.
0:57:18 > 0:57:20MUSIC AND SINGING
0:57:28 > 0:57:33These aren't women standing with their hands out, asking for help.
0:57:37 > 0:57:40These are women who are standing upright and saying,
0:57:40 > 0:57:43we are trying to change things.
0:57:43 > 0:57:45If you can help us, join us.
0:57:45 > 0:57:47But we're going to do this.
0:57:47 > 0:57:50We're going to do it on our own.
0:57:55 > 0:57:58- Thank you.- Pleasure.
0:58:03 > 0:58:05Hello.
0:58:05 > 0:58:07'Next time, I'm in Israel...'
0:58:07 > 0:58:12"Please do not pass through our neighbourhood in immodest clothes."
0:58:12 > 0:58:16'..where I struggle to access the ultra-orthodox Haredim.'
0:58:16 > 0:58:18- I don't know whether... - Stop filming!
0:58:18 > 0:58:20'An intensely private people...
0:58:25 > 0:58:29'..who must adhere to strict religious laws.