Photo by Anita 6000x4000

Rosilla was only nine years old when elderly men began visiting her family’s homestead. “I was too young to understand what was going on.” She was forced to undergo FGM on the day of her wedding ceremony. “I remember; I had not even healed [from FGM]. The man, 55, who had been chosen by my father, came and took me. I did not even know the responsibility of being a wife.” Rosilla fled her living situation.

Rosilla became an advocate for her community at both local and national levels. She also shared her story during the 2019 International Day for Zero Tolerance to FGM. TYTW facilitated Rosilla’s participation in the 2019 United Nations Population Fund Nairobi Summit, as a member of a delegation of former child brides and FGM/C survivors organized by TYTW. She met with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and First Lady Margaret Kenyatta to advocate against FGM as a harmful traditional practice, sharing her story as a testimony to the harm it brings young girls.