Residents of Oyo State have been advised to report any practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) to the nearest police station, Amotekun or the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) for prosecution.
This followed concerns raised over the dangers associated with Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) which prompted Hacey Health Initiative (HHI) with support from Access Bank to implement a project to end the age long culture in Nigeria.
Speaking at a capacity building event for adolescent schoolgirls in Oyo State to mark the UN Humanitarian Day to sensitise them on female genital mutilation which is a violation of the girl-child rights, HHI, coordinator in Oyo State, Owolabi Abayomi, said the act was not just dangerous but had been criminalised by laws in Nigeria.
He advised residents to report any such act for prosecution of culprits.
Owolabi, said Nigeria is one of the four countries that account for 66% of the global burden of FGM, which made it imperative for the NGO to build capacity of victims of the practice otherwise called survivors.
According to him, FGM, is a tradition that had been in practice for over 2000 years traumatizing and putting women in pains, taking away their divinity and violating their human rights.
On the dangers of allowing it to continue, he said; “Several health attendance accompany FGM; such as severe pains, shock and bleeding. Infections (HIV, tetanus, urinary tract infection and reproductive tract infection).
“It affects their sex life, makes urinating and menstruating difficult. Causes excessive scar’s, resulting in psychological problems, complications in pregnancy and childbirth, as well as obstetrics fistula and death.”
Some participants raised questions on whether girls not mutilated end up becoming promiscuous, whether children whose head touches the mother’s clitoris will not survive, or if there is corrective treatment for survivors.
Owolabi, in his response, explained; “FGM is a harmful traditional practice in the first instance, its purpose is simply to devalue women. Cutting got nothing to do with waywardness by good home training.”
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