FGM, Sexual Gender Based Violence are Evil – Don

The Director, Centre for Population and Reproductive Health, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Prof. Oladosu Ojengbede, has lamented the debilitating effects of genital mutilation in the lives of the victims of the harmful traditional practice.

He said the cultural practice was widespread in some states and in a particular part of Nigeria, pregnant women were usually compulsorily mutilated during childbirth while they also insisted that circumcision must be carried out on any unmutilated woman before they could be allowed to be buried in case of death.

Ojengbede, who is a professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology said this in Ibadan at stakeholders accountability conference on Sexual and Gender Based Violence in Oyo State.

The programme which was part of sensitisation campaign against FGM was organised by United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in collaboration with the Oyo State Government and Centre for Population and Reproductive Health (CPRH).

He listed effects of FGM to include, fistula, infant mortality, maternal mortality, HIV/AIDS, menstrual disorder and death, stressing that the practice had not positive effect whatsoever.

Ojengbede said Female Genital Mutilation and other gender based violence were evil and must be stopped because they did not have any good advantage.

The Representative of the UNFPA, Dr Esther Somefun, said one of the goals of the agency was to end all forms of violence against women.

She said, “The goal is to end all forms of violence and harmful traditional practice against women and girls. UNFPA has zero tolerance for SGBV, discriminatory and harmful traditional practice.

” In view of this UNFPA, jointly with UNICEF and Global Affairs Canada leads the largest global and national programme in Nigeria to address SGBV and accelerate the elimination of FGM.

“In Nigeria, 33 in 100 women and girls have experienced sexual, economic, physical, cyber and emotional violence. With the COVID- 19 pandemic, the numbers have increased astronomically and taken various forms including killing and mutilation of women and girls affected.”

Olumide Ogunbiyi