By
UNICEF has urged governments at all levels, civil
society organisations, and traditional and religious leaders to team up and end
the scourge of Female Genital Mutilation and Cutting in Nigeria.
The call came as the world marked International
Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation on Monday.
Commenting, UNICEF Representative in Nigeria
Mohamed Fall, stressed that “Every study and every bit of evidence we have
shows there is absolutely no benefit to mutilate or to cut any girl or woman
for non-medical reasons. It is a practice that can cause severe physical and
psychological harm.”
Five states in Nigeria have rates of Female
Genital Mutilation and Cutting (FGM/C) that are more than 60 per cent, with
Osun and Ebonyi highest at 77 and 74 per cent respectively, according to the
2013 National Demographic and Health Survey. The other states are Ekiti, 72 per
cent; Imo, 68 per cent; and Oyo, 66 per cent.
FGM comprises all procedures that involve partial
or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other cutting of or
injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. It is recognized
internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and women.
In February last year, wife of the President Mrs.
Aisha Buhari launched a national campaign to end FGM, calling on all parties to
work together to halt this harmful practice. Her call underlines the need for
collective action at every level.
UNICEF is working with Federal and State
governments, especially in the southern states where the practice is most
prevalent, training partners, creating awareness at all levels and working with
communities to convince practitioners and community members to promote an end
to the practice.
Support is growing for the national campaign to
end FGM/C. With the support of the Wives of the State Governors, Imo and Oyo
State Houses of Assembly are currently working on draft bills that will
prohibit the practice of FGM/C and any custom or tradition promoting it. When
the bills are passed, Imo and Oyo will join the other most affected southern
states – Osun, Ebonyi and Ekiti – that already have laws against the practice
in place.
“We applaud the progress that has been made in
Nigeria, but there is still a long way to go. Even though this practice has
persisted for over a thousand years, our evidence tells us that with collective
action, it can end in one generation,’ added Mohamed Fall. “It violates a
woman’s rights to health, security and physical integrity, the right to be free
from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and even – in some
cases – the right to life,” he said.
