For as long as Nelly Naisula Sironka can remember, she never wanted children. At 28 years old, she made an irreversible decision to ensure she never would—undergoing a sterilisation procedure known as tubal ligation.
“I feel liberated,” says the organisational development expert, adding that the decision has given her full control over her future.
Tubal ligation, commonly known as “getting your tubes tied,” is a permanent surgical procedure that blocks a woman’s fallopian tubes, preventing pregnancy. Between 2020 and 2023, around 16,000 women in Kenya underwent the procedure, according to the country’s Ministry of Health.
Traditionally, tubal ligation was more common among women who already had multiple children. However, Nairobi-based gynaecologist Dr. Nelly Bosire notes a shift in the trend:
“We are now seeing more women with fewer children—or none at all—choosing the procedure,” she explains.
Despite societal norms in Kenya that place an expectation on women to have children, Ms. Sironka says she never felt pressured to start a family. She credits her father for encouraging her to focus on education and her love of reading, which introduced her to feminist literature from authors such as Toni Morrison, Angela Davis, and bell hooks.
“I interacted with women’s life stories that didn’t feature children at all,” she recalls. “It made me realise that a life like this was possible.
Ms. Sironka had considered sterilisation for years but finally decided to go through with it after securing financial stability. The procedure, which cost her 30,000 Kenyan shillings (£190; $230), was done at a private hospital.
Global events also played a role in shaping her decision. The US Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling that removed the constitutional right to abortion