In Uganda, parasocial workers are supporting girls to say no to FGM and child marriage

AMUDAT DISTRICT, Uganda - Aleper Consolata is a 35-year-old parasocial worker from Katileria Village, Loroo parish and a passionate advocate for the rights of girls.
“I rarely sleep because of worrying about my fellow Pokot girls facing a knife as a rite of passage." - Aleper Consolata, Parasocial Worker
The remote region of Uganda where Ms. Aleper lives is heavily influenced by Pokot culture. Harmful practices such as female genital mutilation (FGM) and child marriage remain deeply entrenched. Yet, Ms. Aleper is resolute in her mission to educate her community on the dangers of harmful practices - a result of her own traumatic experience witnessing her sister’s ordeal.
When Ms. Aleper’s sister was just 13, she was subjected to FGM and forced into marriage. Tragically, complications caused by her young age and FGM led to difficulties during childbirth and her sister lost the baby.
The memory still haunts Ms. Aleper.
“I rarely sleep because of worrying about my fellow Pokot girls facing a knife as a rite of passage to womanhood,” she explains.
Supporting survivors of FGM
Despite Ms. Aleper’s commitment, many challenges remain.
In one particularly distressing case last year, Ms. Aleper supported a 16-year-old girl, Cheruto*, who was mutilated after succumbing to peer pressure. Cheruto ran away from home and sought out a known FGM practitioner in the community against her parents' wishes.
“Cheruto’s brother reached out to me on the phone and informed me about his missing sister. I immediately contacted parasocial workers from neighbouring villages,” Ms. Aleper recalls.
Together, they tracked down the girl, who had already been mutilated. With the help of the police and local authorities, the perpetrator was arrested and Cheruto received medical attention and psychosocial support.
“While the mutilator faces legal consequences, we were able to provide Cheruto with much-needed medical and psychological support,” says Ms. Aleper.
From heartbreak to hope
In Amudat district, particularly within the Pokot culture, girls are often subjected to FGM as a rite of passage into womanhood, which is also seen as a prerequisite for marriage.
“In my Pokot community, girls are still viewed as a source of bride wealth,” Ms. Aleper explains.
These harmful practices rob girls of their childhood and disrupt their education.
“I’m proud to be playing a role in sensitizing and educating my community to abandon harmful practices that jeopardize and destroy the future of our young girls," says Ms. Aleper. "It is heartbreaking to see so many girls face these dangers, but I remain hopeful that through education, we can change the narrative.”
According to the Uganda Demographic and Health Survey (UDHS) 2022, 0.2 per cent of women have undergone FGM nationally. But in Amudat district, 43 per cent of women and girls aged 10 to 59 have undergone FGM, according to a 2020 health survey by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics and UNFPA. This data highlights the significant challenge the region faces in addressing these harmful practices and underscores the urgent need for intervention.
Changing the narrative
Spotlight Initiative in collaboration with the UN Global Programme to End FGM - Keeping the Promise - is working through UNICEF to end FGM and early child marriage in the district. This includes capacity-building for parasocial workers, improved case management and coordination, and life skills training. Spotlight Initiative also supports community-to-community dialogues on harmful practices with boys and girls, adolescents, and cultural and religious leaders.
“I’m proud to be playing a role in sensitizing and educating my community to abandon harmful practices that jeopardize and destroy the future of our young girls." - Ms. Aleper
Through the UN Joint Programme to End FGM, former FGM practitioners who were arrested under the Anti-FGM Act have been reintegrated into the community as change agents, helping to shift the mindset of local populations. The provision of bicycles to parasocial workers has been instrumental in enabling them to reach more remote communities.
Girls escaping child marriage and FGM have also been supported with life skills education to help them overcome challenges. As a result of these collective efforts, significant progress has been made. Kalas Girls and Kataikit Primary Schools now accommodate 198 girls who have fled the risk of FGM and early marriage. The seventh cohort of around 25 girls from Kalas Primary School successfully completed their Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) in 2024. This marks a milestone in effort to eradicate FGM in the region.
Looking to the future
While progress has been made, Ms. Aleper believes that further action is needed. “We need to strengthen the enforcement of the law by law enforcement officers and continue our social mobilization efforts,” she states.
“It is also crucial to continue empowering parasocial workers to keep reaching out to communities and providing support to girls in need. The work is far from over, but I remain optimistic that we will eventually eradicate FGM and early child marriage in our community.”
*Survivor's name has been changed to protect privacy.
By Christine Koli