In a bid to end female genital mutilation and cutting (FMG/C) in the country, HACEY Health has launched the Stop Cut Project to reduce the incidences.
The launch of the project is to commemorate the 2020 International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation which is aimed at intensifying and consolidating efforts to eliminate FMGC.
The Initiative is launched with funding from the United Nations Trust Fund for Ending Violence against Women (UN Trust Fund) would directly reach 6,000 women across three selected southwest states for the project.
“Female genital mutilation is a violation of girls’ fundamental human rights and cannot be justified by any cultural or religious myth,” Rhoda Robinson, executive director, Hacey Health said in a statement.
“Nigeria is a signatory to global declarations and policies that protects the rights of women and girls and protects them from gender-based violence,” Robinson said.
She stated that most Nigerians are not aware of laws and policies such as Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) among other acts that have been passed into law to protect women and girls from violence including FMG.
She added that the domestication and implementation of these laws at state and local levels are very poor, saying it has continued to encourage the practice of FGM.
“This project will amongst other things create a heightened awareness of policies and laws among citizens and strengthen the enforcement of these laws which will go a long way in ending the harmful practice of FMG/C,” she added.
This year’s theme ‘Unleashing Youth Power’ focuses on mobilizing youths for advocating for the end of this harmful practice.
With Nigeria’s growing population of youths, it is imperative that they are actively involved in ending FGM.
With recent progress in interventions targeted at ending FGM, it is evident that FGM could end in a single generation, as such; more effort needs to be made by the global and local community for its complete elimination by 2030.
In line with this vision, the Stop Cut project will engage young people towards campaigning against FGM in order to achieve this goal.
It will lead to increased knowledge of stakeholders and individuals on FGM/C policies, laws and its’ practices to ensure that laws are enforced and FGM/C practices are reported leading to an overall end to the practice; protecting women and girls.
Under the three-year project, Hacey will execute this intervention in Ekiti, Osun and Oyo States to develop local capacities aimed at ending FGM/C.
The project will build the capacity of critical stakeholders such as civil society organizations, media, religious and traditions leaders, government ministries and agencies as well as survivors on advocacy and engagement with policymakers to domesticate and enforce policies and laws on FGM/C at the state and local levels.
It will increase the knowledge of members of the community on these policies and laws and promote positive behavioural change towards the abandonment of FGM/C practices within the communities across the states.
The three states were selected based on the high prevalence rate of FGM/C recorded.
A 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey, the prevalence of FGM/C in Ekiti, Osun, and Oyo were 57.9%, 45.9%, and 31.1% respectively, which is higher than the national average.
This shows the dire need for this intervention in these States.
Despite the passage of new acts and the existence of laws and policies against gender-based violence, there is still a high record of FGM/C practice in Nigeria.
Poor law enforcement of FGM/C policies, low levels of awareness among people about policies and laws against the practice and a lack of effective coordination concerning the eradication of FGM/C are a major hindrance in ending the menace in the country.
The UN Trust Fund is the only global grant-making mechanism dedicated exclusively to addressing all forms of violence against women and girls at local and national levels.
