FGM: SWS tasks TBAs, govt, and security agencies to eliminate menace
With over 230 million women and girls affected by FGM globally, StandUp for Women Society (SWS) has called for stronger legal measures, education, and community engagement to protect the health and rights of women and girls in curbing the menace.
The organisation made the call while sensitising the Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) and pregnant women at the Shiphrah and Puah Agbebiye of Nigeria hall in Akure, the Ondo State capital.
StandUp for Women Society (SWS) urged traditional birth attendants, security agencies, the government, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to enforce stronger penalties for those involved in Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).
Delivering a lecture to mark the International Day of Zero Tolerance to FGM, Liberator Nurse Olufunke Ogidan emphasised the urgent need for collective action to eliminate this harmful practice.
Ogidan, who is the National Advocacy Officer of SWS, observed that Female Genital Mutilation could only be averted through the collective effort of stakeholders.
She noted that this should involve collaboration with health professionals, empowerment programmes, support services, legal measures, community engagement, and increased education and awareness.
According to Ogidan, there are no health benefits attached to FGM; it only harms girls and women in many ways because it involves removing healthy and normal female genital tissue, which interferes with the natural functions of girls’ and women’s bodies.
She also informed participants of the immediate complications of FGM, which include severe pain, excessive bleeding, fever, genital tissue swelling, infections such as tetanus, urinary problems, delayed wound healing, as well as sexual dysfunction, which could lead to shock and death.
“More than 230 million girls and women alive today have undergone female genital mutilation in 39 countries in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, where FGM is practised.”
“FGM is a violation of the human rights of girls and women, and the treatment of its complications is estimated to cost health systems $1.4 billion per year,” she affirmed.
She, however, specifically called out traditional birth attendants for their role in perpetuating FGM and urged them to cease performing the procedure.
The State Chairperson of SWS, Lib. Rafat Momoh, emphasised the lasting harm caused by FGM and encouraged attendees to share what they had learned with others in their communities.
State Secretary of SWS, Hajia Fatimah Muraina, underscored the impact of health risks on pregnant women, urging them to prioritise their health and that of their babies, and always make themselves available for sensitisation activities to gain the necessary knowledge to guarantee their safety.
Lib. Nurse Olubunmi Ajibola also highlighted the negative effects of FGM on sexual health, warning that it could lead to sexual dysfunction and marital issues for women later in life.
The President of Shiphrah and Puah Agbebiye of Nigeria, Revd. Mother Yemisi Adesanmi, expressed her gratitude for the lecture and reiterated her commitment to spreading the message against FGM.
