The wife of the Oyo State governor, Mrs Tamunominini Makinde, has urged traditional rulers to convene town hall meetings in their communities to speak against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Mrs. Makinde gave this admonition at an event commemorating the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) held at the Government House, Agodi, Ibadan.
The event saw the presence of traditional rulers, traditional circumcisers, FGM survivors, security agencies, health officers, and government officials.
Makinde made this call, recognizing that traditional rulers are influential voices in advocating for the well-being of women and speaking against harmful practices affecting the girl child.
She charged traditional rulers to initiate such conversations, just as she urged security agencies to help enforce existing laws against FGM.
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Importantly, she called for the concerted efforts of community leaders, religious leaders, and policymakers to engage in conversations with their members to end the prevalence of FGM, which remains rampant in the state.
The governor’s wife pointed to the existence of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Law, which prescribes four years imprisonment for those perpetrating FGM.
Speaking in the same vein, the state commissioner for Women Affairs, Mrs. Toyin Balogun, expressed bewilderment that people still engage in a practice that has harmful, negative, medical, and spiritual consequences.
She called for collective responsibility on the part of FGM survivors and all members of society to end FGM in the state.
Giving her presentation, Reproductive Health Officer, Oyo Primary Healthcare Board, Mrs. Balikis Olawoyin, stressed that FGM predisposes the girl child to untimely death, along with various health challenges, including bleeding.
Olawoyin downplayed hitherto notions that FGM prevents promiscuity, urging men and women alike to reject harmful traditions and cultures.
Also speaking, senior social welfare officer in the state, Mrs. Seun Olalekanmi, lamented that FGM victims endure painful sex, sex without orgasm, difficulty in childbearing, and bleeding.
Corroboratingly, FGM survivors recounted how they experienced painful intercourse, were kicked out of wedlock by their husbands, with some resorting to single motherhood.
Speaking on behalf of the traditional rulers present, the Aseyin of Iseyin, Oba Olawale Oyebola, stated that they were resolved to eliminate any culture not beneficial to humanity. In his remarks, Mr. Abobade Muftau of the Association of Traditional Circumcisers mentioned that the association had decided to no longer circumcise females.
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