By Asma’u Ahmad
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode said that 45 out of every 100 females in the state had had one form of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) or the other.
Governor Ambode stated this at a High-Level Meeting on Eliminating Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) organised by the Hope for Women Initiative (HOFOWEN) in collaboration with Action Health Incorporation in Lagos.
HOFOWEN is a pet project of the Wife of the Governor, Mrs Bolanle Ambode, to empower women and children in the state.
Represented by the state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, the governor decried the prevalence of FGM in the state, saying that it affected a significant number of the population – women.
Governor Ambode said that FGM must be eliminated with utmost vigour.
According to him, FGM is still practised because it is considered as a family honour and an essential initiation to womanhood.
He regretted that some people still believed that FGM ensured virginity, protected female chastity and curbed promiscuity.
“All these reasons are wrong, we need to protect our women. FGM is cruel, criminal, inhuman and degrading to the female gender. It is dangerous and harmful to the health of women. ”It is a global problem, as it violates the rights of young girls and women to health, security and physical integrity and, occasionally, to life; it does not have any health or social benefits,” he said.
Ambode said that collaboration was ongoing between the state government and relevant organisations, community and religious leaders to stop FGM in the state.
The Wife of Oyo State Governor, Mrs. Florence Ajimobi, decried high rate of the practice of FGM in the South-West in spite of the geopolitical zone’s high literacy rate.
In her goodwill message, Ms. Beatrice Mutali, Deputy Regional Director of the United Nations Population Population Fund (UNFPA), said that FGM was a barbaric act that must be stopped.
Represented by Dr. Omolaso Omosehin, Ms. Mutali said that it did not add any value to the girl-child and had reproductive complications to women, especially during childbirth.
She urged the state governments to push for laws to prohibit FGM as well as to prescribe penalties for defaulters.
The Oba of Ikorodu, Oba Kabiru Shotoba, said that FGM was condemnable and pledged the support of traditional rulers and community leaders to eliminate the practice.
In her remarks, the Wife of the Lagos State Governor, Mrs. BolanleAmbode, said that Nigeria remained one of the African countries with the highest FGM prevalence.
