Traditional birth attendants sensitised on dangers of cutting women
Over 100 traditional birth attendants and circumcisers have been trained on the dangers of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in the five local government areas of Ilorin emirate in Kwara State. Speaking at a one-day sensitisation workshop for traditional birth attendants, parents and guardians in Ilorin recently, the executive director of a nongovernmental organisation, Women and […]
Over 100 traditional birth attendants and circumcisers have been trained on the dangers of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in the five local government areas of Ilorin emirate in Kwara State.
Speaking at a one-day sensitisation workshop for traditional birth attendants, parents and guardians in Ilorin recently, the executive director of a nongovernmental organisation, Women and Youth Development Initiative (WOYODEV), Mrs. Tosin Ajayi, said the health implications of female genital mutilation and circumcision include urinary problems, fistula (VVF), infections, severe pains and death.
Ajayi, who said that baseline studies have shown over 90 per cent prevalence of the act in Ilorin, added that at least three out of every five girls/women have been cut.
She said that most people know that the practice was wrong but engaged in it because of cultural and religious excuses, as well as perception that it protects girls from promiscuity.
“However, efforts have shown that though it may have been part of our culture, but culture is dynamic, meaning it is subjected to change over time. Also we are not obliged to carry on the bad aspects of our culture which evidences have shown are dangerous and harmful to us and our future generations.
“No religion supports female genital mutilation and circumcision, this fact has been established. A woman is chaste if she chooses to be and not because she has undergone the practice or not. Promiscuity is a thing of the mind,” she said.
The WOYODEV coordinator, who said that the practice is illegal, added that an offender is liable upon conviction to a term of imprisonment not exceeding four years or to a fine not exceeding N200,000 or both.
Also speaking, the guest speaker at the occasion, Dr Zainab Balogun, in her paper titled, ‘The Need to End Female Genital Mutilation’, said the practice should be seen as an act of inequality and lowering the status of women in society.