About 55 per cent of females aged 15 to 49 in Nigeria who are aware of Female genital mutilation (FGM), think the practice should end in the country identifying it as a serious physical and psychological harm to their wellbeing.
The report was made available by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) from large-scale representative surveys showing the practice of FGM is highly concentrated in a swath of countries from the Atlantic coast to the Horn of Africa.
Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C), commonly referred to as ‘female circumcision’, is a procedure performed on a woman or girl to alter or injure her genitalia for non-medical reasons, it often involves the partial or total removal of her external genitalia.
Bolanle Ambode, wife of the governor of Lagos State said that FGM constituted an extreme form of discrimination against women and girls, directly violating their rights to health, security and physical integrity, wondering why women should be subjected to such life-threatening dehumanization.
“Mothers, fathers and Non-Governmental Organisations NGOs, must continue to voice their concern and governments must put in place the right statutes, for total eradication of the practice in our country and the continent by 2030,” Bolanle Ambode said, in Lagos on the occasion of this year’s International Day of zero Tolerance for FGMC.
In Nigeria, it is estimated that about twenty million Nigerian girls are estimated to have undergone (FGMC), Imo, Ebonyi, Oyo and Ekiti all have high prevalence rates even though President Jonathan banned the practice. In Osun state, however, despite a 2004 state ban, 76.6% of women and girls are undergoing the cut, according to the 2013 Demographic and Health survey (DHS).
According to the report, FGM/C has no health benefits and often leads to long-term medical complications, including severe pain, prolonged bleeding, infection, infertility and even death. It can also lead to increased risk of HIV transmission.
“Women who have undergone genital mutilation can experience complications during childbirth, including postpartum haemorrhage, stillbirth and early neonatal death In addition to its physical risks, FGM/C is a violation of girls’ and women’s fundamental human rights.
The report further reveals that globally, over 200 million women and girls are estimated to have undergone some form of genital mutilation and girls aged 14 and younger account for about 44 million of those who have been “cut.”
“Female genital mutilation and cutting practice is a globally recognised as violation of human right of girls and women that perpetuates deep-rooted inequality between the sexes.
Marked annually on February 6, the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation aims to raise awareness about female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C), and to galvanize support to end the practice.
