Hajia Aisha Buhari, the First Lady of Nigeria has thrown her support behind efforts being made by UNITED Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) to end Female Genital Mutilation and Circumcision (FGM/C) in Nigeria.
As part of efforts to accelerate the abandonment of FGM/C, the president’s wife on Tuesday launched the national response to eliminate the practice in Abuja. Joining her in the fresh efforts to eliminate the practice were state governors in states with high FGM prevalence, relevant ministries and the civil society organizations.
Mrs Buhari said at the launch: “I also urge the wives of governors, particularly those from states where this harmful practice is rampant, to be the voice of the campaign to end FGM/C in their various states. “We are mothers and women and have the primary role to use our privileged positions to make lives better for Nigerians, especially women and girls. I urge you to be vocal on the need for FGM/C to end in Nigeria and take action that will enable this to happen.”
Nigeria’s National Demographic Health Survey 2013, has it that 25 percent of women in Nigeria have undergone the practice.”
A joint statement from UNFPA and UNICEF noted: “Although the practice is slowly declining. Among the myths that still perpetuate the practice are ideas that FGM/C prevents young women from becoming promiscuous or that it is beneficial for the health of her children.
In fact, it exposes girls and women to severe and sometimes life-threatening health complications, including hemorrhage, tetanus, sepsis, urine retention, sexual dysfunction and infertility; women who have undergone FGM/C are twice as likely to die during childbirth, and their babies are more likely to during or just after birth.”
The national response to accelerate change and eliminate the practice is premised on information gathered in a study on the beliefs, knowledge, and practices of FGM conducted last year by UNICEF, UNFPA and partners in six high-prevalence states of Ebonyi, Ekiti, Imo, Osun, Oyo and Lagos.
The study which highlights the need for sustained communication with communities and collaboration with the media to promote the social change needed for FGM/C abandonment.
Female genital mutilation is considered an extremely harmful traditional practice, documented in 28 countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East comprises all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reason.
Statistics say it is widely practiced in Nigeria, where an estimated 19.9 million Nigerian women have undergone the procedure.
