CHIDIMMA UCHEGBU, Abuja
Minister of Women Affairs, Hajia Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim has called for urgent, collective and sustained action against Female Genital Mutilation, describing the FGM practice as not merely a cultural practice but a fundamental breach of human dignity, a direct assault on the total well-being of women and girls, and a significant impediment to sustainable development.
Sulaiman-Ibrahim made this call while speaking on the theme, “Stepping Up the Pace: Strengthening Alliance and Building Movements to End Female Genital Mutilation,” at the Joint Ministerial Press Briefing on the International Day of Zero Tolerance For Female Genital Mutilation held in Abuja, yesterday.
She said that the call reinforces the commitment of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda to strengthen laws, scale up community interventions and drive behavioural and cultural change.
“Today, we will share our template, outline our multi-sectoral strategy, and the collective action needed to accelerate efforts on ending Female Genital Mutilation, FGM, once and for all,” she said.
According to a press release issued by Chinwe Udouwem, For the Director, Information, Press and Public Relations Department of the Ministry, the FGM practice which has remained a critical issue in Nigeria with the highest burden of 19.9 million women and girls affected, behoves on Nigeria to chart the course in eliminating this harmful practice.
Worried about the survey by the National Demographic and Health Survey, NDHS, 2018, which places a prevalent rate at 20% among women aged 15-49, the Minister, opined that the statistics underscores the urgent need for intensified action, noting that the physical, psychological and socioeconomic consequences of FGM were profound and far-reaching, impeding Nigeria’s progress towards key sustainable goals.
She revealed that part of this year’s commemoration was key activities such as aan dvocacy walk to the National Assembly to engage Lawmakers on strengthening legal frameworks to criminalize and eliminate FGM, engaging community leaders, religious and policy makers on the urgency of abandoning FGM amongst others.
She stressed that the fight against FGM was not the responsibility of one Ministry but a collective responsibility.
Earlier in her welcome remarks, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr. Maryam Ismaila Keshinro defined FGM as a partial or total removal of the external genital organ for non-medical reason.
Keshinro who is also a Consultant Medical Doctor, reiterated that FGM was a public health problem often undertaken as a traditional rite to supposedly protect chastity by limiting sexual enjoyment.
She said that the practice was proven to have no health benefits for women and girls rather, has several adverse health impacts and life threatening complications which includes severe bleeding, infection, childbirth complications as well as long term psychological trauma.
“Beyond it’s physical harm, FGM is a tool of discrimination that deprives women and girls of an essential part of their bodies in an attempt to control their sexuality,” she said.
In their goodwill messages, the Representatives of the Federal Ministry of Health, UNFPA, UNICEF, UN WOMEN, WAVE Foundation, NCWS, pledged their support in the fight against this ugly, barbaric practice, which must be eliminated.
For a better society
Follow us across our platforms:
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/championnewsonline/
Facebook – https://web.facebook.com/championnewsonline
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/champion-newspapers-limited/
https://x.com/championnewsng/
You can also like and comment on our YouTube videos.
https://youtu.be/QIBfD1tT80w?si=R4Qf3so2LxYu3GC2
