SELEYIAN PARTOIP

Seleyian Partoip is a grassroots feminist, girls’ rights advocate, and community leader from Narok County. She is the Founder and Executive Director of the Murua Girl Child Education Program, where she works at the intersection of culture, education, climate justice, and women’s empowerment. Through her leadership, she supports indigenous pastoralist girls and communities to challenge harmful practices while expanding opportunities for education, leadership, and social transformation.

Seleyian describes herself as a visionary leader driven by purpose and hope. She believes that every girl deserves the opportunity to learn, lead, and shape her own future regardless of where she is born. Her work is grounded in resilience, integrity, collaboration, and a deep belief that lasting change begins when communities themselves become the drivers of transformation.

Her journey into advocacy began after spending eleven years working in Nairobi as a social worker within HIV care programmes. Although she valued that work, everything changed when her first cousin was forced out of school because of an early pregnancy. Helping her successfully return to school became a defining moment. Seeing how one intervention could completely change a young girl’s future inspired Seleyian to dedicate her life to ensuring that more girls in her community would have the same opportunity to continue their education and realise their potential.

Today, Seleyian works on issues of FGM, child marriage, gender-based violence, girls’ education, climate justice, women’s empowerment, and mental health. Her work focuses on strengthening indigenous communities by creating opportunities for girls to remain in school, develop leadership skills, and participate confidently in shaping their own futures. She also works with youth leaders, parents, community elders, and local organisations to promote community ownership of change.

Over the years, Seleyian has directly impacted approximately 15,000 girls and reached more than 40,000 community members. She has coordinated youth-led advocacy campaigns on FGM and sexual and reproductive health and rights, expanded the Youth Anti-FGM Network through the launch of new chapters, mentored more than 500 young people and over 150 youth advocates, contributed to the review of the Prohibition of FGM Act, and supported programmes that reached thousands of people through both community engagement and digital advocacy.