Mary knew what was coming as she approached her 13th birthday. And she would have none of it. In a place where babies aren’t recognized as people until they are three “moons” old, because infant mortality is so high, Mary was lucky to have arrived at the ripe old age of 12.
Mary didn’t stick around to be mutilated and married off like so many of her elder peers had been. Instead, Mary ran away to create for herself a different life, one where she could make a real difference to her people.
Female circumcision is still widely, though not universally practiced by the Maasai people in Kenya, according to Wikipedia. It is against the law, but still viewed as essential, even by some girls who may be viewed as unmarriageable if they aren’t circumcised. Most commonly, an outside practitioner using knives and blades fashioned by a blacksmith performs a clitorectomy. The procedure not only leaves women scarred, but also may adversely affect their ability to urinate.
Life for a Maasai woman is not…