Entries: Call for Stories

Let tongues bleed. I hope you never sleep, As you go through, word for word, My little conversations in this world, and pleadings as blood

Murife did not want to stop running no matter how much everyone kept telling her not to run. “Murife don’t run, don’t run Murife!” she

Princess awoke first. It took her a minute to get her bearings in the unfamiliar realities, occurring around her. She saw her brother and quickly

I was nothing but a young girl when my sexuality got damaged. Yes, I mean damaged by ignorant people. Not by rape, penetration, or loss

“Why do you always lie motionless whenever we are communing together sexually”? Abikes’ husband of barely three months asked her before he resignedly collapsed on

I WISH I HAD KNOWN Born and raised in a community where my voice is meaningless and that anything my parents and the community deem

In an isolated community, miles away from the city where folks before the cock crow are already preparing their tools for the days business(dominantly farming).

It was the second time someone was screaming out on our door late in the night. The first time, it happened with this young girl

Zazu finishes her dressing by wearing a white dust coat bearing her name on it with a plastic tag. This is all she had dreamed

The place Adana knew as home lies desolate. All the six sons, born of her grandmother passed on with their wives. Each family left behind

ALONG THE HIGHWAY This is contrary to the curse that she would die like a brute animal with no one to close her eyes. I

It was in the wee hours of the night. The three of us sat under the bonfire, trembling, not sure if Hafsa’s plan would work.

“Anything happened in past still remarkable but great healer is a time ” FGM practice have deep roots in community need to cut of from

“Chesang, now that you are done with primary school you know what’s next, you are a grown up girl, and you are a woman. “Kakwit

“Standing up to fight a practice deeply entrenched in a patriarchal society is not a walk in the park,” said Domtila Chesang. She was raised

“Hoyoo(mom) stop” Asli was screaming at the top of her lungs, the blade in between her legs and all this strong aunties holding her tight

The Punctured Flower The sound of the local gong interrupted the tranquillity that the people of Izega had enjoyed for a long time. The Ibe

I remember the events of that night rather too clearly, the evading thoughts stuck too closely to me that they scarred me, the night of

Hers was not the case of a dashed dream but a traumatic future. Despite being successful at her age and achieving major milestones in her

Imagine a swamp so vast, you cannot make out its end with your naked eye. First, picture a young girl, 13 years old. I want

“But do you think commiting suicide is ever an option” says Monka” “What is the point of living in such a cruel world in which

“You sounded so excited over the phone, what’s the good news” Tess asked. I smiled. “At least, have a seat” Rita replied. Tess sat and

RIPPED OFF My blurry eyes opened slightly and were welcomed with the sight of red clothes tied on chairs. The room exuded a choking scent

The feelings of sadness in the room were palpable. It was almost as if you could touch it and quantify it for what it was

ADEISE Wandering through the deep forest, a shrill cry echoed in the mist as I ran as fast as my legs could carry me with

The year is 2050. The future is here. And the future is female. Beyonce’s renowned ‘Run The World’ is no longer just a song. It’s

Each year, around 4 million girls worldwide are at risk of undergoing female genital mutilation (FGM), with most girls cut before the age of 15.

THE SACRED CUT The agony in the room was intense. So intense you could feel it physically. I tried looking away to face the mud

The room is dimly lit, and the air is musty. My twin sister and I are sat on the floor in a corner of the

The Cut On a rainy night, Mrs Huzuni, a dark petite weary woman in a ragged dress and a new khanga delivered her third child.

To most women my age, among the questions that keep them awake at night “whom would I have been had no part of my body

‘It is our way.’ Those words echo in my soul and run shivers down my spine. It was what Mother told me as we walked

I love the holidays, I love waking up in my makeshift bed and looking at the way light splayed inside my room. I shuffled my

Maria slept peacefully, grasping for warmth and clutching her sheets to her skin. Suddenly, she felt a thick blanket cover her head, her body drifting

THE CULTURE THAT EATS ITS PEOPLE. It is in a chill morning in the village of ole-Nyaruma, Isibania- Kajiado on the Kenya-Tanzania boarder. The village

Siti was my best friend. We were ‘friendship goal’ kind of friends. On our graduation, we promised to be speaking often. However, Siti did not

I did not realize I underwent FGM. Well, I know you must be wondering how that is possible but I assure you I really did

Dream from that awful night still wake me up at night with nightmares. I still remember it like yesterday the night that severed the unity

I wake up screaming for the third time this week. My sheets are drenched in sweat and my body is shivering like a leaf. My

The first cut happened just a fortnight before I turned eight years old. The memories are as vivid to me today as they were fifteen

“STOP, STOP, STOP I NEED HELPPLEASE” were the words that came out from the mouth of my friend Annett in a deep voice with a

When the schools close and everyone is excited to usher in the holidays, there are thousands of girls somewhere around Africa who are worried dead

I remember… The glint of steel, The slow carving, The searing tear of delicate flesh, The muffled screams afraid of hard knocks. They said that

Gone Too Soon It was a cold Thursday night when Kaai’s mother walked into their smoke-field hut that served as the kitchen and Kaai’s bedroom

What inspired your fight against Female Genital Mutilation? The interviewer asked me. I sighed and I said answering this question means taking a stroll down

At age 13 Malingose looked like she was 16, hips a little wider than her peers she was a replica of her late mother. Innocent

Kami was cold. She had been cold when she was woken in the middle of the night and was covered in lesos. She was even

Jane a grade 9 pupil at Kambezi boarding one friday afternoon had just knocked off from school going to the dormitories when she met her

The Blade That Mars My Destiny “Congratulations, Mrs Ruth, you are four weeks pregnant” Doctor Samson said grinning from ear to ear. I sank into

One of the memorable activities of the New Yam Festival at Nrobo Community is the tales by moonlight sessions organized for children. It always seemed