“ V-DAY helped me to set up a safe-house for girls and young women who refuse to be mutilated
20 years ago . When I began this work , some people reacted with fury and there were times I was afraid for my safety . Not long ago , I got a call from a woman who told me of a young girl who wanted to resist cutting , but was being forced by her parents . By the time I arrived , she had been buried in a shallow grave after bleeding to death . I made sure the police investigated and her father is now serving nine years in prison for manslaughter – but I know we need to do more . When women stand up and defend themselves , it works . No woman is free until all women are free . I am one part of a global struggle – one that unites the one billion women across the planet who have been beaten or raped or mutilated . I invite you to join us .”
– AGNES PAREYIO
Agnes began her efforts to end FGM by walking from village to village in the Rift valley in 2000 , educating families about the dangers of the practice . She met V in 1999 . V , in an interview with Mother Jones in 2004 , recalled their early connection :
“ She had been genitally mutilated as a child , and had made a decision to stop it . She had devoted her life for years to walking from village to village on foot , educating boys and girls and mothers and fathers about the dangers of FGM [ female genital mutilation ]. In those years , she stopped 1,500 girls from being cut . When we met her , we said , “ What can we do for you ?” She said , “ Well , I could use a Jeep .” We got her a Jeep . Forty-five hundred girls . Then we got her money , and she opened the first safe house in Africa .”
Today , Agnes is an internationally recognized leader , the Chair of the Anti-FGM Board of Kenya , a UN Person of the Year for Kenya laureate and is running for Parliament . Her grassroots work with families , young girls , cultural leaders , and politicians in Kenya is actively reducing the rates of girls who undergo the cut . As a survivor of FGM , Agnes has dedicated her life providing safe alternative rites of passage into womanhood for Kenyan girls .