What you need to know about the EAC FGM Bill, 2025

The East African Community (EAC) Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) Bill, 2025, commonly known as the EAC FGM Bill is the first regional law of its kind across the African continent which if passed into law, will criminalise FGM across the eight EAC Member States; Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. 

This Bill was gazetted and tabled at the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) for the First Reading on 8th July 2025. The Bill was moved by Hon. Jacqueline Among’in from Uganda and supported by Hon. Falhada Dekow Iman from Kenya, with other EALA Members supporting from across the region. 

The Bill subsequently went through public hearings in November and December 2025, in seven of the eight EAC Member States. Somalia did not participate in these public hearings as it had not fully integrated into the EAC and its public hearing was held on 3rd September 2026. 

Why does East Africa need a regional law on FGM?

Despite global efforts to eliminate FGM, the practice persists across East Africa. FGM prevalence varies across the region, with data showing prevalence among women and girls aged 15-49 of approximately 15% in Kenya, 99% in Somalia, 8% in Tanzania, 1% in South Sudan and 0.2% in Uganda. While DRC does not have nationally representative data on FGM, there is evidence of FGM in the country. Rwanda and Burundi do not have available data on FGM.

Of these EAC countries, only Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and South Sudan explicitly prohibited FGM under their national laws. 

Some of the emerging practices that hampered efforts to eradicate FGM include medicalisation of FGM and cross-border FGM. Over 20% of recent FGM performed in Kenya was done by healthcare providers. 

Cross-border FGM is a regional concern with families and cutters crossing national borders to evade laws or enforcement mechanisms. UNICEF shows that border areas of Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Somalia had a higher prevalence of FGM than the national averages. 

Additionally, there was presence of migrants from Sudan and the Central Africa Republic (CAR) in DRC and migrants from Tanzania in Burundi and Rwanda respectively who were found to have undergone FGM. However, only Uganda and Kenya in the EAC region prohibit cross-border FGM. 

According to UNICEF, current trends indicate that only Uganda is on track to end FGM by 2030 in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Tanzania and Kenya would need to accelerate efforts two times and five times respectively to achieve the 2030 SDGs.

A regional law could therefore help harmonise laws, strengthen cross-border coordination and enforcement among governments. 

Why is Somalia’s public hearing significant?

Somalia has one of the highest FGM prevalence across the world, with approximately  99% of women and girls aged 15-49 having undergone FGM, according to its 2020 Demographic and Health Survey. 

Article 15 (4) of Somalia’s Constitution prohibits female circumcision (FGM) and describes it as a “cruel and degrading customary practice, and is tantamount to torture”. However, there is no national legislation that specifically implements this Constitutional provision therefore in effect, FGM is not prohibited in the country. 

This makes Somalia’s participation through the public hearing significant as it signals increased political will. Somalia was the final EAC Member State to hold a public hearing on the Bill, completing consultations across all the eight countries. 

The public hearing held in Mogadishu provided an opportunity for government, civil society organisations and other stakeholders to review the proposed legislation and provide recommendations.

What does the Bill propose?

The EAC FGM Bill provides a comprehensive regional framework to eliminate FGM. It defines FGM and proposes criminalising a range of related offences, including aggravated FGM, aiding and abetting FGM or self-mutilation, using premises for the performance of FGM, using derogatory language against women and girls who have not undergone FGM, cross-border and medicalised FGM.

On medicalised FGM, the Bill proposes penalties for healthcare providers and institutions found complicit in performing or facilitating FGM. Further, healthcare providers have a duty to report all cases of FGM to the national focal point and to include post-FGM care services within healthcare packages.

This Bill would also require Member States to designate a national focal point; an agency responsible for coordinating the detection, prevention, and implementation of measures to  eliminate FGM. Member States would be required to submit a report to the EAC every two years on the status of implementation and progress towards the elimination of FGM. This would provide updated data on FGM from each country, helping assess which interventions are working and track how the practice is changing. 

Beyond criminalisation, the Bill adopts a holistic approach by mandating the integration of FGM prevention into national curricula, enabling courts to issue protection orders, establishing border monitoring measures to detect and prevent cross-border FGM and providing for post-FGM health and support services for survivors among others.

What is the Bill seeking to address?

This Bill seeks to harmonise and strengthen legal and policy responses across the EAC  region. 

In particular, it seeks to address:

• Cross – border FGM
• Medicalized FGM
• Weak coordination
• Gaps in prevention and response interventions

The Bill will strengthen cooperation and help close gaps that make it easier for FGM to continue across borders. 

Why is cross-border FGM a regional problem?

A study by the UNFPA–UNICEF Joint Programme on Female Genital Mutilation found that approximately 60% of respondents from Ethiopia, 14% from Somalia, 17% from Tanzania, and 71% from Uganda travelled to Kenya to undergo FGM, demonstrating the extent of cross-border FGM in the region. 

This demonstrates why national laws alone may not be sufficient and highlights the importance of the EAC FGM Bill in addressing cross-border FGM and strengthening efforts to eliminate the practice.

Equality Now is supporting efforts to advance the Bill

The EAC FGM Bill is a Private Members’ Bill, therefore, various partners and stakeholders, including Equality Now, have contributed to the development of the Bill and advocated for its adoption across the region. 

We have also contributed to awareness-raising campaigns at national and regional levels in collaboration with partners, both state and non-state actors. Through these efforts, we have  advocated for the adoption of the Bill and supported efforts to mobilise other CSOs to ensure that this regional law becomes a reality to protect the rights of women and girls in East Africa. 

These efforts form part of Equality Now’s broader legal advocacy to advance stronger laws and legal frameworks that protect women and girls from FGM.

Next steps

With the completion of the public hearings, the EALA General Purposes Committee will consolidate the recommendations from all the Member States, to progress to the Second Hearing and the subsequent stages of the legislative process.

If adopted, the law has to be signed by all the eight Member States before it becomes applicable across the region. 

It is imperative that all stakeholders join hands for collective advocacy for the adoption of the Bill and its subsequent signing by the Member States. National advocacy would be most important to ensure that this Bill does not lapse without being signed. 

The time for a regional law to end FGM is now. The adoption of the EAC FGM Bill would mark a significant milestone towards in guaranteeing legal protection for  women and girls.