KISII, Kenya — Thirteen-year-old Mercy Kemunto had a choice: Obey her parents and undergo the ritual female cutting as custom dictates or shame them by refusing the procedure.
" 'Don't worry, my daughter, you'll get a better husband,' " Mercy said her parents told her, hoping she would take what's considered a fundamental step in becoming an adult in her ultratraditional Kisii tribe in southern Kenya.
