Women In Action

In Kenya, one in five girls between the ages of 14 and 19 is pregnant or has already given birth. In the pastoralist community we work in, two out of five girls aged between 13 to 19 are young mothers or on their way to parenthood.  Teen pregnancy is fuelled by rape, poverty, child marriage, peer influence, drug abuse, and lack of youth friendly services. Many of these girls also suffer Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), a historic practice one in five Kenyan women has been subjected to.

Mukogodo Girls Empowerment Program (MGEP) is an indigenous pastoralist organisation founded in 2012 by female local leaders from Laikipia and Isiolo counties. Aligned with the UN goal of achieving gender equality for sustainable development, we champion rights of indigenous women by strengthening their capacity to influence policy and decision making processes in their communities and advocate for women rights. 

Our work focuses on ending harmful cultural practices like FGM and child marriage, promote women’s rights, support education and vocational training for those who dropped out school due to early pregnancies. Our approach is to educate local communities by working with their leaders to find approaches sensitive to cultural values by e.g. developing alternative rights of passage that focus on life skills rather than gential mutilation.