By Iyakale Yakubu
Jos (Nigeria) aa Federation of Muslim Women’s Associations in Nigeria (FOMWAN) has condemned Female Genital Mutilation and calls the attention of religious bodies, families and agents of socialisation to take responsibility in raising the girl-child the right way instead of practicing the ‘barbaric’ act.
Leader of the FOMWAN in Plateau state, north central Nigeria,, Mairo Sani, while observing the annual International Day for Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in Jos said,“The traditional practice of Female Genital Mutilation should be revisited to stop the harmful practice; I think efforts are being made to include this in the constitution so that the public complies. The rights of these children should be protected and their future enhanced.”
According to her, the girl- child would be morally sound if the home, school, Religious formations and society as major agents of socialization inculcate in them good moral virtues and teachings not the practice of FGM.
By World Health Organization (WHO) standard, Female Genital Mutilation comprises of all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.
In 2016, it reported that “more than 200 million girls and women alive have been cut in 30 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia where FGM is concentrated.
The International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation is a UN-sponsored awareness day that takes place February 6 each year since 2003. This year’s theme was “Building a Solid and Interactive Bridge between Africa and the World to Accelerate ending FGM by 2030.”
This is a movement for the rights of women and their bodies, as well as the protection of their physical health – which can be dangerous to them and can even cause death in some cases.
Nigeria has banned female mutilation in 2015, but the practice is till on going part of the country.
