By Cosmas Ekuwam
Isiolo County, Kenya: At 10, Arunye Lomuria is a beaded girl child from Daaba village on
the outskirts of Isiolo. She is a representation of the rural girl who has for a long time resigned from playing and is now engaged with subordinate and peripheral roles in society.
“Why should I go to school, it is a waste of time, who will look after my father’s goats?” Lomuria poses back as I ask why she is not enrolled at school.
We are at Daaba village in the outskirts and remote part of Isiolo district where we are met with a score of enthusiastic beaded under-age girls tending goats and going about their business with no accord to free and compulsory primary education.
Lomuria’s typical day starts at around 5.00 am, a time when most of her age mates prepare for school, but on her part, she proceeds to milk sheep and goats, before she embarks on preparing tea or porridge whichever is available.
She is content with her daily routine of events, milking, tending goats, fetching firewood, water, and other mundane household chores, having been indoctrinated and socialized that it is God-ordained role of the typical traditional Turkana housewife.
“Schools spoil girls and end up not fetching livestock for their parents in the form of dowry, most of them are impregnated or are not married by wealthy ( mostly illiterate elderly men having a large herd of cattle), but instead end up eloping with vagrant educated men.”
Responds Ekai Elimlim the father of Arunye when asked why she has not taken to school.
Turkana community cultural beliefs and stereotypes on the role of women in society have conspired to deny girl children education and advancement in this largely conservative closed community.
“ I have taken my three boys to school, but their younger sister has to remain back and look after our livestock, after all, boys will remain with me, while the girl is married off and goes to the family of her husband” Argued Ekai, while justifying his action.
Matters are made worse for the girl child due to entrenched cultural practices that encourage child marriage.
Among the Turkana community betrothal is a common practice where the the girl child is booked as early as six years by a prospective husband where she is beaded to signal the intention.
The scars
Arunye and scores of others carry on their shoulders heavy straps of beads tied around their neck, evidence that they are potential wives of prospective husbands.
Most suitors are elderly men who marry these young girls to look after them during their twilight years. These marriages are mostly arranged by elders from friendly clans in a bid to cement and further their close knits.
Girls are identified early enough and the suitor buys beads that are worn by the innocent girl, with the aunts working towards socializing and calculating social norms to prop up the growing girl child to womanhood.
“We have to ensure that this girl grows up into a responsible adult by close supervision and apprenticeship to womanhood, Even my marriage was arranged when I was a child, and I don’t have any regrets, but schooled girls are not easy to tame and end up not fetching cattle to the clan” revealed Akai Maring a 30-year-old woman defending the cultural practice.
It is mostly argued by local elders that educated girls defy their counsel and are not agreeable to an arranged marriage, ending up bringing home the prized cattle.
Entrenched cultural practices have conspired to deny the girl-child and women’s emancipation initiatives from taking root in fiercely guarded pastoral communities.
While many gains have been made in giant strides for women’s social, economic, and political emancipation, the fruits of this hard-fought battle pushed by the women’s movement are yet to be realized at the grassroots level.
The promulgation of the 2010 Kenya constitution was a major milestone by civil society organizations which has been agitating for women’s empowerment.
While the 2010 Kenya constitution broke the ceiling of women’s aspirations, by institutionalizing and correcting gender imbalances in both public and private offices, the rural woman has been left out of the loop.
The grassroots women are still boggled by entrenched traditional culture and stereotypes, that may take ages to successfully to navigate out.
According to Turkana community cultural practice, the children belong to the clan, hence parents of the girl child have no final say on the matters relating to the child.
The authority for a betrothal of the girl child lies solely on the head of the clan, a senior elder who is consulted by the delegation of the interested suitor, and the negotiations are initiated.
Grip and authority by clan members over one’s children are derived from age-old tradition in which the clan members collectively contribute to legalizing marriage through an elaborate solemn traditional ceremony, akiarr emong.
During akiarr emong traditional wedding ceremony –which is a must for any legal recognition of marriage cultural rituals are done by binding the children to the clan of the father.
“Emong traditional wedding Ceremony is essentially about legalizing ownership of the children, and not more on the woman. In some instances it is even carried out between separated couples to remove ambiguity over where the children belong” clarified Mzee Kochila Aremon.
“Among the Turkanas there is no room for divorce, once the akiarr emong has been undertaken the couples are permanently bonded as wife and husband, even if the woman later leaves the man, she cannot legally be married by another Man. Children born out of such cohabitation will belong to the first man clan.” Aremon added, explaining the eternal covenant which cannot be reversed.
Akiaar emong Does not come cheap, as the groom clan has to cough out the bride price in the form of livestock ranging from a minimal 30 to 60 cattle, or alternatively at minimum over 360 goats to be shared out among clan members of the bride.
The exorbitant cost of successfully holding the ceremony forces the clan members to join hands to collectively contribute and hence lay claim over the children of such marriage.
Due to the extremely central role of the ceremony among the Turkana community, it is deemed shameful for the man and his clan not to be able to meet this solemn traditional marriage legal condition.
A man and his clan lose ownership of children, with the mother’s clan who are basically their uncles laying claim-unfathomable disgraceful situation to a proud Turkana Man and his entire clan.
However, through the entrenched Turkana community, Emong traditional cultural wedding is facing a bit of uncertainty and facing resistance from the growing influence of evangelical churches permeating the society.
The Pentecostal and evangelical churches are slowly combing the area with muted voices of rebellion against the traditions, and gravating towards organized church weddings.
“We are asking our church members to conduct alternative church weddings by paying all the bride-prize to the family and clan members” Animated Agostino Eric, pastor of Kingdom Vision International Ministry Ngaremara, Isiolo.
Rights groups role
Civil society groups on the part, are calling for fusing and encompassing Turkana cultural practices, like emong weddings with modern trends and doing away with retrogressive practices.
Grace Lolim, Executive Director, of Gender Watch, a civil society organization based in Isiolo, said the young teenage girls are socialized and prepared for early without their consent and addressed there without due regard to inalienable human rights and dignity and decorum.
“Through beading and betrothal, they are paraded as assets and commodities for sale for the highest bidder, in most cases older wealthy men( in terms of livestock) for exchange of marriage fetching bride-prize for clan members” she exclaimed.
The dignity and child rights of which are enshrined in the 2010 constitution are disregarded.
“They are married off young, barely teens between 9- 13 years through the persuasion of aunties and uncles, who are the gatekeepers for prospective suitors.” She lamented.
She said Education and the future of the girl child are not taken as a priority but parents are more concerned about bride-prize in the form of cattle and shoats.
“Parents and mostly clan members want to recoup back livestock that was paid as dowry for the mother of the girl when she was legally married through akiiar Emong cultural wedding” She pointed out with frustration.
Local leaders on their part are torn apart, while calling for the preservation of cultural practices for the posterity of future generations, are quick to urge the community to embrace education, going forward towards fast-changing modern technological advances and trends.
“While we should jealously guard against the preservation of our cultural heritage, we should infuse it with modern trends and do away with retrogressive cultural practices like beading and girl-child betrothal, as it cut them from accessing education” Emphasised James Lowasa, Deputy Governor Isiolo county, who is also a senior Turkana elder.
He said an educated girl is a plus in the community, apart from fetching dowry for the clan members when she is married, she will be empowered and get her profession and job, and thus plow back to the community at large.
“She will be able to take care of her parents at their twilights, besides sustaining her family and siblings” he noted.
All said and done, the Turkana cultural wedding (Emong) is here to stay, but the persistent challenge and revolt from a muted voice from the church and civil society groups should be heard by infusing and encompassing the positive aspect and doing away with retrogressive aspects of the culture.
