Experts Decry FGM In Nigeria

Experts in children,youth, and women development have described Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) as a time bomb, called for more concerted efforts to stop the barbaric practice in Nigeria.
According to them, despite taking an important step to enact a law banning FGM in 2015, Nigeria still faces an immense battle to ensure enforcement and, ultimately, end the obnoxious practice by 2030.
They spoke at a webinar hosted in Abuja by ‘Education as a Vaccine’ in commemoration of 16 days of Activism (2022) with the theme: “The Role of Adolescent Girls and Young Women in Ending FGM in Contemporary Nigeria Society”.
Speaking, the Executive Director of Value Re-orientation for Community Enhancement (VARCE), Ademola Adebisi, explained that any mutilated female suffered psychological trauma, physical pain, prolonged and obstructed labour during pregnancy as well as hindrances in urine and menstrual flow.
He cautioned that a victim whose clitoris was mutilated as a child would not derive pleasure in sex when she attain womanhood because of the lingering negative effect of the practice on her mind.
Adebisi further identified the types of female genital mutilation as clitoridectomy, excision, infibulation and unclassified group.
According to him, the unclassified group include pricking, piercing, or incision of the clitoris and/or labia, scraping of the vagina, stretching the clitoris, cauterization, the introduction of corrosive substances and herbs in the vagina, and other forms of tampering with the female sex organ.
“Unclassified female genital mutilation is the time bomb we are not focusing on, at all.
“We must all come together to make sure that FGM is stopped in this generation because we all are affected by the menace.
“One thing adolescent girls can do to end FGM is to start speaking out, and adding their voices to the conversations for all stakeholders to listen,” the expert said.
In her contribution, the Executive Director of Hope for Second Chance Foundation (HOSEC), Ibukunoluwa Otesile, said although the origins of FGM as a socio-cultural practice in Nigeria cannot be traced with precision, the menace also known as female circumcision or female genital cutting is prevalent in the country.
She described such practices as abuse, assault and injustice to women apart from the psychological trauma on them, adding that there’s an established relationship between female genital mutilation and the risk of HIV.
Otesile explained that the link between the two is supported by the fact that some of the instruments used on multiple victims at once, especially during festivities, are blades, scissors and knives which are mostly unsterilised.
She said it is double jeopardy to suffer the pain and trauma of experiencing the use of knife, razor blade, scissors among others to cut the clitoris without anaesthesia and still get infected with HIV.

The expert advised those indulging in such practice to desist from it, saying there are punitive laws for sanctioning perpetrators.

She harped on the need for stakeholders to provide more support for girls and young women in the country to end FGM, saying “all of us must be concerned about it and realise that nobody can do it better than ourselves.”