The Girls in the Wild Fig Tree is a memoir by a Maasai Kenyan woman, named Nice Leng'ete, who narrowly escaped Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) not once, but MULTIPLE times, by running away and at times hiding in Fig Trees. Also referred to as "the cut", FGM was a required rite of passage for all pubescent (and some even younger) girls, but the dangerously unsanitary and brutally painful practice was not only a form of child and gender-based abuse, but was also illegal, life-altering and potentially fatal. Forced to watch the practice at a very young age, Nice grows up traumatized, knowing that she does not want to experience the cut. With the added childhood traumas of: becoming an orphan at 8 due to AIDS claiming both of her parents in less than a year, the fatal drowning of her younger brother, separation from her siblings and neglect and abuse from some of the family members who took her in after her parent's death, it is astounding that Nice managed to survive childhood much less go on to be part of a movement which is working towards eradicating FGM practices around the world!
Nice attributes her ability to attend and graduate primary, secondary and even post secondary education (an extremely rare feat for women and even men in her community) to her several narrow escapes from FGM. Starting before she was 10, her male family members prepared to preform the rite of passage and then marry her off as a child bride so that they could obtain her dowry. Thankfully, she had some extended family members, including the man who took her in (who she calls her grandfather), who made small gestures to support her, such as hiding her overnight or agreeing to put it off for 1 year or 6 months at a time. Really, it was Nice who fought back and saved herself, but had she not had these family members on her side escaping would have likely been completely impossible. But Nice was a fighter and she managed to escape many other dangerous situations including multiple potential rape/sexual assault incidences, complete her education and receive training to help teach her community about the dangers of FGM and other unsafe practices. By taking the strategy of building competency of community members rather than imposing Western practices on the Kenyan people, organizations like Amref (the aid organization she worked with) made great strides towards creating lasting change in community practices and beliefs.
Early in her memoir, Nice shares that it was common for aid groups (mainly foreign or Western organizations) to come and build wells in communities like her own. While positive in theory, clean water is essential and a basic human right, they did so without the proper discussions with the community members. As a result, Maasai women continued to travel great distances for clean water because their current practice led to opportunities to socialize with other female members of their community. It was a positive part of their day so no one abandoned the practice and the wells went unused. Much later in the book Nice discusses the concept of Alternative Rites of Passage, which may include less dangerous and brutal versions of FGM, or preferably, a greater focus on the cultural, educational and celebratory aspects of the practice such as learning about roles in the community from elders, receiving special clothes and enjoying a community feast. She explains "we do not ask communities to give up their traditions. We ask them to replace the traditions with what we call Alternative Rites of Passage" (Leng'ete, Kindle Location 2340). She goes on to say that upon successfully eradicating FGM in her community "we did not destroy Maasai tradition. We honored it and made it better" (Leng-ete, Kindle Location 2358). As a member of the community and also an aid organization, Nice saw the whole picture when it came to detrimental community practices and was able to provoke change that was accepted by the community, resulting in long-lasting change and positive results.
Nice also gave thoughtful advice throughout her memoir about how she approached these kinds of changes within her community and other communities in rural Kenya. She explained that asking questions, not necessarily to find the answers, but to get people thinking, is an opportunity and a small step forward that can lead to many future steps towards change. This is a philosophy I also live and teach by. Telling someone something doesn't often get them thinking, asking them something, definitely does, and even more important, encouraging them to ask questions is a valuable opportunity to really get them thinking. Using this strategy, Nice was able to slowly change minds about detrimental practices such as child marriage/limited education, and help people recognize the value in a variety of health care and social programs that likely saved countless lives.
If there is one thing I take away from this book, it is the reminder that cultural change needs to come from within a culture, not an external force. Support and education are a huge piece of the puzzle, but change cannot be forced, it needs to be something that a community can be on board with otherwise it wont be sustainable and is a waste of valuable time and resources, while also (at times) leaving dangerous situations to continue indefinitely.
My love of and bachelors degree in Cultural Anthropology was definitely a huge part of why I thoroughly enjoyed this book, but I think that anyone can benefit from reading Nice's story and learning about FGM and other challenges people in Kenya face. Any opportunity to hear someone's story and learn about their personal context is an opportunity to grow personally, and in many cases, professionally. Beyond that, Nice is a great story teller and the book is interesting, heart-wrenching and incredibly thought-provoking. I would highly recommend it! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Little Brown and Company, for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book!
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