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Story by Baba Mohammed
Child’s Right Activists, Government Intensify Campaign to End Female Genital Mutilation
A Non-Governmental Organization, Women Environment and Youth Development Initiative (WOYODEV) has called for collaborative efforts to end Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in the society.
The Executive Director of WOYODEV, Mrs. Tosin Apiriola-Ajayi, made the call during a training session for healthcare workers on FGM from Ifelodun and Ilorin East Local Government Areas, held in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.
Mrs. Apiriola-Ajayi noted that the dangers of FGM far outweigh the perceived benefits for those who engage in it, expressing sadness that women are often the perpetrators of the act.
She enjoined healthcare workers to assist in sensitizing people in their host communities about the adverse effects of the practice.
On her part, Dr. Atinuke Ogundeji of the Department of Gynecology, Kwara State University Teaching Hospital, Ilorin, who spoke extensively on “Medicalisation: Implications and Prevention, Role of Healthcare Workers,” explained that FGM causes significant health risks, including severe bleeding, infection, childbirth complications, and long-term psychological trauma, among others.
Dr. Ogundeji stressed the need for stronger legal enforcement, better education for healthcare professionals, and greater community involvement in combating the practice.
The Kwara State Commissioner for Women Affairs, Mrs. Folashade Opeyemi, noted that genital mutilation affects the health of the girl child and women at large.
She, however, acknowledged that some people view the practice as traditionally beneficial.
The Commissioner, who was represented by a director in the ministry, Hajia Idayat Alabi, enjoined participants to pass on the message of the End FGM campaign to people in their localities.
Another speaker, a member of the Gender-Based Violence team in Kwara State, Barrister Anthonia Orifolami, noted that the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, which came into force in 2015, criminalizes violence against women and specifically prohibits Female Genital Mutilation.
The legal practitioner warned that anyone who performs FGM or engages another to carry out such an act would be sentenced to a term of imprisonment not exceeding four years, or a fine of N200,000, or both.
Editing by Sola Rotimi
