Abua: FIDA, NAWOJ Warn Against Female Genital Mutilation

The International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) in conjunction with the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), Building Excellent Women (BEW) and African Women Lawyers’ Association (AWLA), among others have carried the sensitisation campaign to stop the practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) on young girls and pregnant women to Abua Central, headquarters of Abua/Odual Local Government Area of Rivers State.
Speaking during the sensitisation campaign, marking this year’s International Zero Tolerance Day for FGM, last Tuesday in Abua, the chairperson of FIDA, Rivers State, Authonia Usademe said the rally way part of awareness and enlightenment initiatives designed to upscale public attention and drive government focus on issues aimed at curbing the menace in the state, especially in the rural communities with high tendency for FGM infractions.
Osademe recalled a similar a sensitisation campaign in Oyigbo some years ago, which she noted had recorded significant successes, and expressed optimism that the coalition would also succeed in Abua/Odual, where the practice appeared to be high.
“In Rivers State today, there are still areas that are practising this tradition whereby the female are being circumcised. This is the reason why we have chosen Abua because we know in some areas in Abua, FGM is still being done.
“We have spoken to the Chiefs and King of Abua to see how we can bring an end to this practice and I believe that at the end of this programme, we’ll be able to achieve our goal, because we were in Oyigbo few years ago, where we made sure we brought zero tolerance to it, so Abua would not also be left out this time around”, Osademe added.
Also speaking, the chairperson, NAWOJ, who was represented by her Vice, Mrs Joy Grant-Amadi stated that one of the core functions of NAWOJ was to ensure that such obnoxious traditional practices done to women were put to an end.
“NAWOJ, Rivers State would ensure that the practice of FGM which is prevalent in Abua stops by ensuring that sensitisation reaches every nook and cranny of Abua and Rivers State as a whole.
“This sensitisation would also extend to the Braithewatte Memorial Specialist Hospital (BMSH) as we gathered from the Abua women that some women from the area still carry out this practice on pregnant women before they deliver their children”, Amadi-Grant added.
A woman from Abua, Mrs Sokari Inmo stated that the practice of FGM was a mere baseless super-stitious belief that has no biblical backup, hence her refusal to be circumcised and she is now a mother to two baby boys.
“It is time for parents, especially mothers to speak to their girl-children about their experiences, because my mother told me hers, which was a very pathetic one that gave me the mind to resist FGM, but the pressure became much on me that I had to leave my community for an unknown area where I got married and had my two bouncing baby boys, who are very hale and sound. I didn’t die because I refused to be circumcised”, Inmo added.

Susan Serekara-Nwikhana