The Oyo State government has restated its commitment to total eradication of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and other harmful traditional practices in the state.
The Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Inclusion, Kafilat Olayiwola, stated this on Wednesday during the pre-mobilisation meeting for the launch of a programme to end FGM.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that FGM involves the partial or total removal of external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.
Mrs Olayiwola, therefore, said that the state government, in collaboration with relevant stakeholders, would intensify sensitisation against FGM.
She recalled that a pre-mobilisation meeting organised by UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) B-Field Office in Akure was held at the state secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan.
She, however, stressed the need for the public to play its parts by sensitising and creating awareness for others to know the implications of FGM.
According to her, the theme of the programme is “Movement for Good to Eliminate Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in Nigeria.”
She said that “13 out of 33 local government areas are presently campaigning for the elimination of FGM.
“The state government has inaugurated technical committees on FGM in some of the local government areas, while a great number of traditional and religious leaders have publicly denounced the practice.”
The commissioner further stated that “about 310,260 women and girls who were at risk of FGM received gender-sensitive prevention, protection and response services through routine healthcare services.
“In addition, over one million survivors of FGM were provided with appropriate psycho-social support services such as mentoring and monitoring, quarterly review meeting, establishment of surveillance teams in communities with other necessary actions.”
Ibrahim Sesay who spoke on behalf of UNICEF, said the global movement for the elimination of FGM followed an evaluation that was done by the children’s fund in the year 2021 as part of efforts to end the practice in Nigeria.
Mr Sesay said: “we are to look at the whole local government areas in Oyo State and make the programme a statewide engagement.
“We want to make sure that the cutting stops with the support of the whole society; We are looking at mobilising one million people across every segment of the society and relevant stakeholders to be part of the movement.
“The movement will be launched in two locations simultaneously, one in the Southwest and another in the Southeast.”
He, therefore, urged the Oyo State Government to implement the Child Rights Law and the Violence Against Persons Prohibiting Law accordingly to prosecute offenders, saying that legal protection for children and women must be enforced.
(NAN)
