Ugo Nosiri, Owerri
The Federal Ministry of Women Affairs says the ministry is collaborating with other stakeholders to implement an action plan aimed at ending Female Genital Mutilation, FGM, in the country.
The minister of women affairs, Imaan Sulaiman Ibrahim, stated this at an occasion to commemorate the International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM in Owerri, the Imo State capital.
She noted that National Demographic and Health surgery of 2023, reports that 19% of Nigerian women age 15-49 had been subjected to FGM with some prevalence rate of about 50-70%, making the country the highest number of women who have undergone female genital mutilation.
Sulaiman Ibrahim while speaking on this year’s theme, “set up the pace, strengthening alliance and building movement to end FGM,” stressed that female genital mutilation is a violation of human rights, which causes lifelong physical and psychological trauma, increased child birth complications and maternal mortality rate.
She decried the growing trend of medicalised FGM where health care professionals perform the procedure under the false pretense of cramp reduction.
Speaking at the event, wife of Imo State Governor, Mrs Chioma Uzodimma, explained that female genital mutilation is one of the dangerous harmful practices against the girl child and all hands must be on deck to end it.
Mrs Uzodimma noted that the practice which is more entrenched in rural areas where traditional beliefs persist is not a cultural tradition to be preserved but a violation of fundamental human rights rooted in deep misconception about purity and control.
“Here in Imo State, our reality is even more concerning with the prevalent rate reaching 61.7% in some communities. Through sustained community engagement, we are beginning to see promising signs of change. These are not just statistics, they represent real lives.”
The Governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma, in his message called for immediate domestication of campaign against FGM as well as extending it to the rural areas to stop violence against women’s dignity.
He appealed to parents to rise up against female genital mutilation which is an inhumane practice.
