Rescued from FGM, trained on child rights and now chasing her dreams

Gati lives with her eight siblings, father and her step-mother in a village in Tanzania. Gati’s father married another wife when Gati was about 10 years old, following the loss of Gati’s mother. Her step-mother came into the family with 4 children (1 boy and 3 girls) younger than her.  

Gati’s father is the sole provider for the family. He engages in small-scale mixed farming and cultivates cassava, maize, beans and sweet potatoes for family consumption. He sells surplus from the harvest and earns approximately 60 Euros every month which takes care of other family needs as well as school needs.

In the family’s homestead, there are 3 structures made of mud and iron sheet roofs. Each of the three houses has one bedroom and a sitting room. Two of these houses are for the children whereas the third one is for the parents. The family uses a small thatched latrine that stands at the corner of the compound. They usually collect and use rainwater for domestic chores, and other times they fetch tapped water 500 metres away from home. There is no playground within their homestead but the children team up with other children from their neighbourhood to play at the school compound 3 kilometres away whenever they get opportunities to play.

In 2012, Gati suffered a prolonged illness which was believed to be malaria that was accompanied by convulsions, a condition which resulted in disability to her leg and hand in the same year. Her father therefore denied her with the belief that disability is a curse in that family.  “Before falling sick, every morning I had breakfast and went to school”. Gati reminisced.  After dropping out of school, she had to remain at home and do all of the chores including cleaning the compound, washing all the dishes, caring for the younger siblings and sometimes helping to prepare family meals.

In 2018, when Gati was almost 13 years old, her father and the step-mother forced her to undergo FGM during the December cutting period but she was against it because she already knew the effects of FGM. Her older sister had been forcefully cut and bled a lot, and she told Gati how painful the cut was and her friends had similar stories. Because of the pressure from her parents, Gati ran away to the rescue shelter in December 2018. After the cutting season in January 2019, she was rejected by her parents because of refusal to undergo the cut. 

Gati was identified by a staff member of the rescue shelter in November 2018 during preparation of the cutting season. This was after the sensitisation and training of the community members who are against FGM and other forms of GBV against girls in the community. Gati escaped to the rescue shelter for protection, where she was provided with the basic needs and sensitized on her rights as well as the laws concerning the issues of FGM and child marriage on girls. 

In April 2019, with the support of TdH NL through the GIVE TZ 2 project, Gati was supported to pursue a sewing and designing course at a vocational training school in Tanzania. She was provided with medical assessment before admission to the training school. She was also provided with school fees, pens, shoes, school bag and school uniforms. In the school, Gati received counselling and got additional psychosocial support from her peers. She was also educated on the rights of children living with disabilities and the right to protection from FGM, child marriage and any form of abuse.

Gati finally graduated in 2021, having completed the two year course and had the opportunity to continue practising her sewing skills at the rescue shelter. However, she struggled using the sewing machine due to her disability. When it was apparent that she may not be able to fully utilise the skills she acquired during her vocational training, she was enrolled in a tailoring and design course at another vocational training centre which provides disability-friendly sewing machines. She is currently continuing with her training on tailoring and design course at the vocational training centre. 

Gati continues to receive sensitization and awareness on gender-based violence issues and the rights of children living with disabilities. Since 2018 when she was first rescued, she has never been accepted back by her parents because she ran away and did not undergo FGM, and any attempts to reintegrate her back to her family has been met with hostility. However, with frequent home visits and sensitisation, her step-mother and other family members have now changed their attitude and began to speak up against FGM. Sadly, her father remained reluctant until June 2023 when he called the rescue shelter, wishing to talk to her daughter, an indication of a change towards accepting his daughter back. Continuous assessment is ongoing to determine the entire family’s willingness to receive back and protect Gati from FGM and any other forms of exploitation.

Gati attended workshops on children with disabilities and became a peer educator. She is knowledgeable about their rights and sensitises her peers, focusing on at-risk children's rights and inclusion. She is now empowered and calls for the prohibition of FGM. She is motivated to stand up for children and girls living with disabilities in her community. “I did not want to be cut because my sister felt unbearable pain when she was cut. I also knew that when my time came, I would not be able to resist because I could not run due to disability. But after becoming aware of the rights of children with disabilities and the right to protection from FGM, I can now stand up for my rights and speak against FGM, and I can also advocate on the effects of FGM and demand for the rights of the girls with disabilities,” she explained.