Ebonyi Stakeholders Vow To Clamp Down On Perpetrators Of Female Genital Mutilation

Stakeholders in the 17 communities in Izzi local government area of Ebonyi State have vowed to ensure they fish out perpetrators of Female Genital Mutilation FGM) and their collaborators in the area for adequate punishment and prosecution.

The stakeholders in an agreement reached after a one-day meeting to build consensus on ending FGM in the local government area condemned the practice of FGM in the LGA, describing it as not only harmful but a gross violation of the right of girls and women.

The event which was organised by the Ebonyi State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) was part of activities in their ongoing joint project, tagged: “EndFGM in Izzi LGA of Ebonyi State.”

The stakeholders includes traditional rulers, community leaders, law enforcement agencies, leaders of community vigilante groups, as well as community health workers.

A participant, Celina Ogboso, sharing her experience said FGM complications led her relation, who she identified as Nneka, into labour issues resulting to multiple still births.

“Some years back, I lived with my niece, Nneka. She was circumcised during her early years of maturity. She bled so much that she fainted severally and the colour of her skin changed.

“Though the bleeding was eventually stopped through medical attention, a lot of damage had already been done. During child delivery, she had prolonged labour so much that she almost died.

“After all the struggles, she survived, but each time she becomes pregnant, she either miscarries the baby or ends up having a stillbirth. Since then, I have vowed never to support female circumcision (FGM) under any guise.”

The traditional ruler of Ezza-Inymagu community and vice chairman of the Ebonyi State Traditional Rulers Council, EzeLinus Nwizi, in his submission noted that the entire Izhi Clan, made up of three local government areas: Abakaliki, Ebonyi, and Izzi, had already initiated moves from their common ancestral home in Amagu, Abakaliki to outlaw the practice of FGM.

Nwizi called on his subjects to embrace the campaign for its total abandonment, assuring that they will leave no stone unturned in fishing out perpetrators and their collaborators and hand them over to appropriate authorities.