This tragic event beclouds our narration in this edition of our series of note on the African girl-child. Today we bring to fore the harmful traditional practice that is being committed against the character, the African girl-child. Out of numerous traditional practices born out of cultural sentiments, this edition will focus on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).
ALSO READ: Ending female genital mutilation
WHAT IS FGM
Female genital mutilation (FGM) involves procedure that intentionally alter or cause injury to the female genital organs for non medical reason. The procedure has to do with partial or outright removal of the clitoris in the female organ. And it is widely believe to have no health benefit for girl and women. FGM is a violation of the right of the girl and women. FGM is recognized worldwide as a fundamental violation of the human right of girls and women
This country has about a quarter of the world’s estimated 115- 130 million circumcised women. Nigeria has FGM highest prevalent rate of 77 per cent in the south-south among adult women, followed by 68 per cent in the south east and 65 per cent in the south west. But it is practiced in a smaller rate in the northern part of Nigeria. Only the Fulani ethnic group stands out as not to practice FGM at all among all the other major ethnic nationalities which includes Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo, Ijaw and the Kanuris.
This barbaric concept is entrenched in Nigeria society where critical decision makers are grandmothers, mother’s, women, opinion leaders, men and age group. Mothers chooses to subject their daughters mostly after bowing to pressure from the paternal mother-in-law and other family members who believe in the practice simply to protect them from ostracized beaten, shunned or disgraced.
TYPES OF FGM
We have four different types of FGM as practiced in Nigeria.
1) Clitoridectomy :
(This is the least severe form of the practice). It’s the removal of the prepuce or the hood of the clitoris and all or part of the clitoris. This usually involves excision of only a part of the clitoris.
2) SUNNA
This is a more severe practice because it is the removal of the clitoris along with partial or total excision of the labia minora. (This first and second types are popular but less harmful compare to type 3).
3) Infibulation
This is the most severe form. It involves the removal of the clitoris
It reflects deep-rooted inequality between sexes and constitutes an extreme form of discrimination against woman. It involves violation of the right of the children and violation of a person’s right to health, security and physical integrity. The right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman degrading treatment and the right to life when the procedure results to death. Furthermore, girls are usually subjected to such practices without their informed consent, depriving them of opportunity to make independent decisions about their bodies.
FGM is a practice whose origin and significance is embedded in secrecy, uncertainty and confusion. The origin is surrounded with controversy either as an initiation ceremony of young girls into womanhood or to ensure virginity and curb promiscuity. Or to ensure female modesty and chastity. The ritual is very much widespread that, it could not be tagged to have risen from a single origin.
FGM is being presently traced to be in practice in about 28 African countries and few scattered communities worldwide. It’s more stressed in Nigeria, Egypt, Mali, Eritrea, Sudan, Central African Republic and northern part of Ghana. In these places, it has been an age long cultural and traditional practices of various ethnic groups. But the highest prevalence rates are found in Somalia and Djibouti where FGM is almost everywhere.
Nigeria, in relationships with its large population has the highest absolute number of FGM cases in the world the labia minora and adjacent medial part of the labia majors and the stitching of the vaginal orifice leaving an opening of a size of a pin head just to allow for menstrual flow and urine.
4) UNCLASSIFIED TYPE
This includes introcision and gishiri cut, pricky, piercing or incision of the clitoris and/or labia scrapping and/or cutting the vagina ‘angrya cuts’ stretching the clitoris and/or labia cauterization, the introduction of corrosive substance and herbs in the vagina and other forms. FGM has no relationship with religion. (Christians and Moslems practices it, but it’s more widely spread in Christian predominated parts of Nigeria). In some parts of Nigeria, the cut edge of the external genitalia are smeared with secretion from snail being a slow animal would influence the circumcised girl to be passive when it comes to sexual activities in the future.
Can you imagine such a mentality? I ponder on such sentimental tendencies as attached to this practice and I find it difficult to juxtapose such with the widespread promiscuity and immorality we have among the female folks. This is wickedness and barbaric. The World Health Organisation (WHO) proscribed it as a crime against humanity. Where the girl-child is subjected to such painful adventure without her own consent.
Another important factor of note is the way and manner at which such act is being carried out. The health implications of this practice. In Africa, nearly 3million girls are at risk of FGM annually. Despite the increase international and a little national attention, the prevalence of FGM overall as declined very little. The procedure, you remember had no health benefit for the girls and the women.
Adverse consequences of FGM are shock from pain and hemorrhage, infection, acute urinary retention following such trauma. Damage to the urethra or anus in case of victim’s struggles during the process. The extent of the operation which in many cases is been dictated to be by chance. Chronic pelvic infection, acquired gynatresia, resulting in hematocolpos, vulval adhesion, dymenorrhea, retention cysts and sexual difficulties with anorgesmia, implantation dermoid cyst and Kelliod and sexual dysfunction. Injury to the urethra and bladder. Injury to rectum. And in many cases where the instruments are not adequately sterilized, it could aid the spread of HIV virus. And worst of all cases DEATH! just as in the case of these two Somalian sisters from same mother. (which was also in the CNN news of Sept 14, 2018)
Of note to this is the parochial approach of many African governments especially Nigeria to institute a legal framework that would completely help to abolish and ban outrightly the FGM in Nigeria. In which legal penalties will be enacted to forestall the act.
But unfortunately, the response of the government is otherwise, as the law of the land is silent on it till today. This invariably leaves the judgement to the mothers either to agree or not whenever such is raised.
This makes a lot of women go through unspeakable traumatic experiences especially in the family and society where FGM is held in high esteem. Only a few women had been able to stand their grounds facing their in-laws and society on such matter as the pressure from such areas could be seemingly unguarded. Some family goes to the extent of witchcraft, casting spells even hypnotism, just for the purpose to make the woman succumb and submit their daughters for such harmful procedure. To this extent only a few women had been able to withstand the heat.
Some had to flee with their girls in this instance as a result of fear and uncertainty of what could be the fate of their daughters afterwards, so they has to leave everything behind in sacrificing for the safety of their girls.
This brings to mind the case of a woman Mrs Oluwole inIbadan Oyo state, south west Nigeria. A situation that occurred sometimes around 2012. This woman being a mother of three girls namely (Kofoworola Oluwole, aged 14, Oyinkansola Oluwole, aged 10 and Yewande Teressa Oluwole, aged 5). She suffered so much from her husband’s family, that insisted the girls must be circumcised to fulfil their family tradition.
From this woman’s account, she had seen so many evil repercussions of this harmful practice, so she insisted that never will her girls be subjected to such fate. At first, she had her husband’s support as he was mad at his people seeing the inhuman treatment meted on his wife.
The issue was first at family tone but later it became escalated to public disturbance at the disapproval of the woman, which made the family unleash on her various uncivilized means of humiliation just to get her humbled. I remember being a witness of her being pulled out of her car and beaten by hoodlums as facilitated by one certain chief from her husband’s family. Simply because, she refused to release her girls.
This woman out of fear that that her husband could be bewitched someday, left her matrimonial home with her kids. She moved to another community thinking she would be out of reach. But after some months, she was spotted and hunted down. Interestingly, just as it should be of a civilized society, she reported in a police station (name withheld).
The police could only pacify the situation for a little while but later, they told her their hands are tied as the law is silent on FGM so she should just go and settle it amicably with her family. Can you imagine the pain and anguish of this woman. She wept all and night in absolute confusion. But in her determination never to bulge, she kept moving. She moved out of the state to another, and for the fear of being hunted she moved again and constantly on her heels till no one knows her whereabouts till date.
Today, I salute her courage and determination, when I eventually ascertained that, she maintained that never will her kids be subjected to such wicked procedure of chance.
Where the barbaric beliefs and sentiments of the family or the society is placed to supersede the life chances of the girl child. Who knows, probably God used this woman as an angel to safeguard the lives of these her girls, so as not to suffer the same fate of these two girl in Somalia, who just lost their lives to complications raised after going through FGM procedure.
Can you imagine how many (Aasiyo and Khadijo) that die daily in this circumstance. I know of many more cases but, time will not permit me to mention more. These are young, innocent, intelligent girl children with great future tendencies. Potential Engineers, Doctors, Legal Practitioners, IT experts etc. are constantly loosing their lives, due to unsolicited harmful traditional practices like FGM. Many mothers are subjected to pains and agony of loosing their loved ones due to circumstances they cannot withstand. As in the case of the mother of this two girls that died recently. Imagine her state now as the incident occurred just some days ago.
Think of the numerous types of Mrs Oluwole, running from pillars to poles just to protect their beloved girls. Women who had to flee their homes even at night, leaving behind all they have ever worked for.
In my humble view, I subscribed to the fact that culture and traditions are important aspect of a given society. This is known for it’s significant contributions in molding the views and behavioral pattern of the society.
But of important note is the harmful practices of FGM in cultural beliefs and practices must be abolished.
A multidisciplinary dimension must be adopted to confront this deep-rooted legendary practice of FGM. Just as I iterated earlier, a legislation in Nigeria with health education of female emancipation in the society.
The step taken by Nigeria in 1994 by joining the 47th World Health Assembly to resolve to eliminate FGM is a right move in right direction which must be consolidated. The process of social changes in the community with a collective, coordinated agreement to abandon the practice with conscious community led actions is very important.
With a boost in education and social status of women and creation of increase knowledge on the complication of FGM like the (case of Aasiyo and Khadijo). Interestingly most women who underwent FGM completely disapprove such harmful practice for their own girl-child. If a woman is more educated, more informed and more active socially and economically, such will definitely appreciate and understand the danger of harmful practices like FGM and advocate it as an unnecessary procedure, refusing to accept such harmful practices and never will subject her daughter to such at whatever cost as in the case of Mrs Oluwole.
Dotun Bankole writes from Abeokuta
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