Maasai Girls learn self-defence to fight Gender-Based Violence

“No, no no!” girls shout as they strike a cushion. They are practicing fighting techniques. And no, they are not part of a martial arts club. They are Maasai girls living at a boarding school in Transmara, Kenya, which doubles up as a rescue centre for teens who have escaped early marriage and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).

14-year-old Grace Musheni has been living and studying at the Enkakenya Centre for Excellence since 2023. “We learn how to protect ourselves, how to protect our bodies, and even educate our parents,” she says. The centre was set up in 2009. It doesn’t just offer a safe haven for girls at risk of early marriage – it also provides free high school education. This is used as an incentive for parents to allow their daughters to stay in school instead of undergoing Female Genital Mutilation – a ritual that is still common in Maasai girls aged 8-17, depending on where their birth-year falls in their respective age-set.

Once a girl is circumcised, she is considered an adult and able to marry, meaning an abrupt end to childhood and education for many girls. Although Kenyan law prohibits Female Genital Mutilation and marriage below age 18, both are still practiced, especially in rural areas where education levels remain low. 2022’s Kenya Demographic and Health Survey found that 56.3% of women with no education had undergone FGM, compared to 5.9% of women with more than secondary education.

Girls’ education has an impact on gender-based violence too, with 34% of all Kenyan women surveyed having been victims – a figure that drops down to 23% for women with more than secondary education. But 23% is still alarmingly high. So on top of providing that education, the Enkakenya Centre now partners with I’m Worth Defending (IWD) to teach combative self-defence techniques to all students.

It’s not so much so that they can physically fight potential abusers (although they could) – it teaches them to be assertive in all areas of their lives. “We train them with basic principles of assertiveness and boundary setting, which includes verbal and physical techniques,” says Amelia Awuor from IWD. “These skills instil confidence to speak up against violations or fight off physical threats.”

The self-defence classes do also offer some protection against sexual abuse – which can end up trapping girls in violent marriages. “A man can defile you, but the parents say the easier way is you going to that man and becoming his wife. And then they take back the cows (as bride price),” explains Musheni.

15-year-old Purity Risanoi has been at the school for five years. Her mother is a widow and farmed to raise her five children on her own, but cultural pressures from her community remain. “My parents still engage in traditional cultural practices which puts me at risk of being subjected to practices like sexual abuse, early marriage and FGM. But now that I am equipped with the skills I understand the risks and I can stand up for myself and defend myself,” she says. Her long-term plan solution? Keep studying. One day, she wants to be a lawyer. Musheni meanwhile dreams of a career as a software engineer. She wants to come back here and use technology to uplift her community.

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