VOA慢速英语2016--在肯尼亚,仍旧支持割礼仪式

AS IT IS 2016-09-01 In Kenya, Growing Support for New Rites² of Passage 在肯尼亚,仍旧支持割礼仪式

Communities in southern Kenya are slowly changing practices connected to the traditional ideas of passage from girl to woman.

Alternative rites of passage, or ARPs, are growing in popularity in place of female genital mutilation, or FGM.

FGM, also known as circumcision, is the cutting and removal of parts of sex organs.

In Kenya, FGM is illegal, but some communities continue to practice it.

VOA recently went to an alternative rites ceremony. It took place in the town of Oloitoktok, in Kajiado County. About 400 Maasai girls took part to mark their passage into womanhood.

The ceremony used to involve FGM. But here, the girls are receiving a special blessing³ from older members of their community.

Sabina Lakara is one of the girls.

"I'm happy because I have undergone ARP and I haven't undergone FGM because it causes a lot of diseases and a girl may die. And also I'm wonderful because we have told our parents the bad effects of FGM and now they have left it."

Laserian Katau worked as a female circumciser for more than 20 years. She says she circumcised about 200 girls. But she is now a strong supporter of ARP. She teaches the girls two days of classes about life as a woman.

She said, “Some of the elders have not embraced alternative rites of passage and you know they are the decision makers⁴, so that’s a major challenge. But in our village, we have embraced it because of information and education.”

ARPs began in Kenya seven years ago. But FGM is still done to an estimated 100,000 girls in Kenya each year.

Nice Nailantei is a fellow in U.S. President Barack Obama's Young African Leaders Initiative. She is also an ARP international ambassador for the Nairobi-based nonprofit Amref Health Africa. She avoided an FGM operation when she was eight years old.

“We should invest in education because all these harmful traditional practices -- female genital mutilation, early marriages, teenage pregnancies⁵ -- if we are not educating our girls, if we are not investing in education, they will never end. But once we realize that there’s an importance of educating our girls the same as educating our boys, that is when as a community we will be able to move forward.”

The girls are given documents at the end of the ceremony. The papers serve as notice of their transition from girls to young women.

Words in This Story

alternative – n. not usual or traditional

rite¹ – n. an act that is part of a usually religious ceremony

circumcision – n. the act of to cut off the clitoris or outer sexual organs of woman or girl

elder – n. a person who has authority because of age and experience

embrace – v. to accept (something or someone) readily or gladly

1 rite   

n.典礼，惯例，习俗

参考例句：

• This festival descends from a religious rite.这个节日起源于宗教仪式。
• Most traditional societies have transition rites at puberty.大多数传统社会都为青春期的孩子举行成人礼。

2 rites   

仪式，典礼( rite的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to administer the last rites to sb 给某人举行临终圣事
• He is interested in mystic rites and ceremonies. 他对神秘的仪式感兴趣。

3 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

4 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 pregnancies   

怀孕，妊娠( pregnancy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Since the wartime population needed replenishment, pregnancies were a good sign. 最后一桩倒不失为好现象，战时人口正该补充。
• She's had three pregnancies in four years. 她在四年中怀孕叁次。