Oyo to start prosecution of FGM perpetrators

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3 years ago

The Oyo State Government will now start prosecution of anyone found guilty of perpetrating any act of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) across the state as recent laws in the state have termed the act of FGM a criminal offence.

This was made known at the weekend during a one-day capacity building workshop for journalists on FGM themed “Stop Cut Project/stakeholders capacity building” held at Koltol Hotel plaza, Ibadan.

The workshop which is a partnership between the Oyo State government and HACEY Health Initiative was to sensitise journalists on the need to partner with the government to stop the act of FGM which is still high in Oyo State.

Speaking during the workshop, the representative of HACEY Health Initiative, Emmanuel Oni, in his welcome remarks, said FGM is a crime in the state and that anyone caught engaging in FGM would be prosecuted in line with the recent laws passed in the state.

“With these laws, the government has given us the go-ahead to officially prosecute any perpetrator of FGM. The passage of these laws has given us the support to work with security agencies to ensure that we bring this practice to an end,” he said.

In her presentation, the Oyo State Coordinator of Female Genital Mutilation, Mrs Bilkis Kemi Olawoyin, said the practice exposes girls and women to more health issues that usually have irreversible implications, adding that it is high time Nigerians stopped the practice and help prevent future health complications that might arise for the girl child and women in general.

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In her paper on the presentation on understanding of FGM, she pointed out that the society believes it is protecting women from promiscuity via FGM, adding that this has been discovered to be false, emphasising the need for media support in the enlightenment of traditional rulers, community leaders, religious leaders and the people at the grassroots in a bid to put an end to the practice.

“Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is extremely harmful to the body of girls and women. It is now time Nigerians desist from such practice because the negative effect of FGM is irreversible.

FGM has no known benefit. It has immediate and age-long term consequences. It is an extremely harmful practice. The society thought that FGM is a way to protect women against being promiscuous, but we discovered that it does not. We do not know when it started. It does not discourage women from being promiscuous. It has no benefit. So, the media should help us spread the message to the people at the grassroots. We appeal to the religious leaders, traditional rulers, men and to stop this act.

“Oyo State is one of the states with highest prevalence rate of FGM in Nigeria and the training for the journalists from the print, online, electronic media and those from various ministries became necessary in order to sensitise members of the public on the negative effects of FGM,” she added.

In her presentation on ‘Presentation on Laws and Policy,’ Barrister Adeoti Tolulope described FGM as a violation of the right of females, urging all stakeholders to rise and stop the practice.

She enumerated the various sections of the law that seek to sanction perpetrators of the act, adding however that claim of ignorance would not be accepted in the law court should anyone be caught in the act.

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Oyo to start prosecution of FGM perpetrators