Kween — A silent battle is fought daily in Eastern Uganda’s Sebei Sub-Region, where Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) leaves women with deep emotional scars that extend far beyond the initial physical wounds—the Cut—of this ancient, yet illegal, tradition.
This feature tells the extraordinary journey of three survivors—Chelimo, Chelangat, and Chesang—who escaped forced marriages and cultural abuses and are now rebuilding their lives at the Kween Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Shelter in Binyiny Town Council.
“FGM nearly killed us…”
Chelimo still remembers the morning in 1990 when her father lined her up, alongside six other girls, to undergo Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). She was a teenager then, terrified but powerless.
“The ritual normally starts around 6 or 7 a.m.,” she recalls. “But the mutilator delayed that day. We waited until 11 a.m. When she finally came, everything went wrong. We bled so much. We fainted. They had to rush us to the hospital.”
Even after surviving the ordeal, Chelimo’s suffering was far from over. Her father forced her into marriage immediately. “I was given to a man who already had a wife. That home was full of abuse. But my father insisted that no one leaves marriage.”
Eventually, the violence became unbearable. Chelimo fled to her parents’ home at a time when ActionAid International Uganda had begun anti-GBV campaigns in the region. “ActionAid stepped in and said, ‘Enough is enough.’ They protected me. Without them, I don’t know what would have happened.”
She later remarried and had two children, but again faced hostility — this time from her in-laws, who attempted to seize her land. With ActionAid’s legal and community support, she reclaimed what was rightfully hers. “That land saved my son’s life,” she says quietly. “He fell very sick, and it was that same property that funded his treatment. He lived up to 32 years because ActionAid helped me keep my land.”
Today, Chelimo is raising 14 grandchildren. Some of her daughters became pregnant while still in school, but ActionAid’s counsellors guided her through difficult decisions. “They told me not to abort the babies, to support my girls to go back to school. One finished tailoring. Another went from Senior Two to Senior Four. That counselling changed our future.”
Her fiercest commitment now is to prevent FGM in her lineage. “I tell anyone — mothers-in-law, elders, whoever — that no child of mine will ever be cut. Never again.”
“I lost five children before I turned 17… but I survived”
At 53, Chelangat carries the memories of a brutal childhood. She grew up with alcoholic parents, enduring neglect and abuse. At just 16, she was married off — exchanged for six cows.
“My parents didn’t ask if I wanted to marry,” she says. “They only cared about the cows. I was a child.”
Tragedy followed. “I lost five children in that marriage,” Chelangat recounts. “Only one survived, and even that child lived for just six months.”
Abuse was relentless. She fled at 17, stayed with her parents for four years, then entered a second marriage, which also brought suffering. “My second husband was a drinker. He sold everything — goats, cows, household items. We lived in instability,” she says.
ActionAid intervened through counselling, legal support, and economic empowerment programs, helping her regain control of her life. “They helped me bring my children back to school. They stopped my husband from selling our things. They protected us.”
She later faced a final battle when her husband died, and her in-laws attempted to seize her land. “ActionAid came again and said, ‘This woman has rights.’ I recovered my land.”
Chelangat also speaks about the trauma of FGM, which she experienced at age 18. “They told me I would not stay in marriage if I wasn’t cut. But FGM destroys lives. You can die from bleeding. You can miscarry. I’m thankful my daughters escaped it.”
“Dowry cost my freedom”
At 48, Chesang carries scars of forced marriage, domestic abuse, and profound loss. She was forced to marry at 18 after her parents negotiated a dowry of five cows and eight jerry cans of local brew.
“My parents insisted I must go,” she says. “If I refused, they beat me. They said I was bringing shame to the family.”
Her marriage was hell. She bore only daughters, prompting her husband to marry a second wife. “He tortured me. Sometimes I thought of ending my life,” she confesses.
ActionAid helped her recover a portion of the land, start anew, and gain independence. “With their help, I built a house. I joined savings groups. I learned how to grow maize, beans, and Irish potatoes. I became someone again.”
Today, Chesang is financially stable and emotionally strengthened. “I have never needed another man since,” she says firmly. “ActionAid taught me that I can stand on my own.”
A 2021 UBOS report found that 95% of women and girls have experienced some form of violence —physical, sexual, emotional, or economic. The 2024 Police Crime Report recorded 14,681 cases of domestic violence and 14,826 sexual offences.
Fighting GBV and FGM Together
Leaders in the Sebei Sub-Region emphasise that while the fight against violence is active, challenges persist. John Kamera Poloman, Chairperson of Male Action Groups (MAG) in Kween, stated, “FGM is still one of the biggest challenges in this region, but ActionAid is helping us fight it through sensitisation—from village to village, churches, and schools.”
Significant progress in supporting survivors was reported. Cherukut Zaituna Sisco, Psychosocial Support Officer, said the shelter served 427 GBV cases this year, down from over 600 last year. “Many survivors leave empowered and become advocates.”
Susan Ikwakol, Psychosocial Support Officer for ActionAid in Amudat, says their shelter in Amudat has been supporting over 700 women since 2021. Ikwakol noted that for the Pokot community, FGM remains a “deeply rooted ‘rite of passage'” that traumatises uncut women labelled “unclean”. “It is a deeply degrading act with severe consequences on a woman’s health, dignity, and quality of life.”
Justine Chelangat of the Child Protection Committee reported that her unit handled 40 cases this year, down from 55 last year.
Local community mechanisms are driving change, illustrated by Michael Chesang Jason (MAG representative), who highlighted that community support allowed “One girl [to return] to school after a divorce. Today she is in Senior Two.”
Collaboration to end FGM and GBV
Dr Tapiwa Uchizi Nyasulu, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Regional Gender and Human Rights Advisor, stressed global and local collaboration to end FGM and GBV. “What inspired me most is hearing people say, ‘This happened to me, but it ends with me.’ Social norms change slowly, but they change when people decide they must.”
She added: “When survivors are supported, we don’t just respond to violence—we break cycles. This work requires education, health services, and community solidarity. Men and boys standing with women is real leadership.”
Samuel Francis Ononge, Coordinator of the EU-funded project in Karamoja with ActionAid, explained their integrated model: “We created Male Action Groups and Female Action Groups. Some issues cannot be discussed openly between men and women. Every group needs a safe space.”
Daisy Leoncio, UNFPA Regional Communications Adviser, noted global parallels: “Women around the world are fighting the same battle. Patriarchy is universal, and GBV is not unique to one culture.”
The UNFPA funds ActionAid projects, including the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme and the SURGE Project, to combat FGM and GBV by establishing shelters, providing technical assistance to government partners, and promoting the Alternative Rite of Passage.