Dinna Protecting Pendo

2024 brought a return to the circumcision ritual (it happens every two years) and the leaders of the girls camp reviewed the names of those girls they thought would be in danger and how they could best connect with them and get them to the girls camp before the rituals began. Dinnah volunteered to collect Pendo herself. With the circumcision ritual a couple of weeks out Dinnah had not been able to locate Pendo. Visiting her house Dinnah asked about Pendo and was met with only awkward silence. Tanzanians, hospitable people who love to welcome visitors, were suddenly not very welcoming. Dinnah knew what this meant. Continuing to follow up Dinnah was able to track down one of Pendo’s brothers and while even he wouldn’t tell her where Pendo was, he agreed to tell Pendo that Dinnah was looking for her. 

Pendo was 13 and has lost her father years before. Her mother was an alcoholic and often unable to care for Pendo or her siblings. The uncle saw an opportunity and no one to object or protect Pendo. He has already found an elder Kuria man willing to pay the bride price to marry Pendo, but per custom, the bride price would be more if she was circumcised. Pendo’s uncle was keeping her in a little mud hut that he had built to prepare her for the cutting and then marriage. When Pendo’s brother found her and passed on Dinnah’s message Pendo was excited and wanted to go to the girls camp and escape the ritual circumcision. However both Pendo and her brother were afraid. Pendo knew if she was caught sneaking away she would be beat along with anyone who helped her. 

Later on Dinnah met Pendo’s brother and he explained that they were all too scared to do anything. The family was serious about the marriage and the uncle would not risk losing the cows he had been promised for Pendo. Dinnah was running out of options but was not ready to give up. She decided to go the police. While FGM is illegal in Tanzania most of the police are not willing to get involved in family incidents unless there is clear evidence that something illegal that has already happened, and even then it is hard to get them involved in rural issues. Dinnah had to deal with sexual harassment and requests for bribes on several trips before finding a police officer that cared and was willing to ask. A female police officer, Amina, was wiling to help. On Dec 10th, 2024, two days before the ritual circumcision was scheduled, Dinnah, Amina, and another police officer went to the uncles house. They went armed, which is not always normal for police officers in Tanzania, but they have experience with rural Kuria. The uncle in the end did not put up a fight and allowed them to take Pendo to the camp. For three weeks she stayed safe, though the family continued to show up to the camp, try to claim that Dinnah kidnapped the Pendo, and harassed camp workers and other girls. 

Pendo, even now is not circumcised and has not been forced into an early marriage. Dinnah’s courage and confidence grew at Wesley College and Wesley House and when it counted the most she found more than just her voice, she took confident action to save a young girl from a horrific life.