End FGM: Traditional, Religious Leaders Urge To Spearhead Eradication Campaign in Osun
Traditional rulers and religious leaders in Osun State have been urged to take the lead in ending Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), with stakeholders warning that the practice is harmful, unnecessary and unsupported by culture, religion or law.
They stressed that strong community leadership is critical to protecting girls from the physical, emotional and social consequences of FGM.
The call was made at a high-level conference on transforming social norms and eliminating FGM to promote gender equality in Osun State, organised by the Centre for Comprehensive Promotion of Reproductive Health (CCPH), with the support of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
Speaking at the event, the Executive Director of the Centre for Comprehensive Promotion of Reproductive Health, Prof. Oladosu Ojegbebe, noted that FGM is a harmful practice and a violation of the rights and dignity of women and girls.
Ojegbebe said Osun State once recorded the highest prevalence of FGM in Nigeria, with 73.6 per cent as of 2013, placing the state among areas with the highest rates globally. He added that sustained awareness, evidence-based advocacy and community engagement have helped reduce the prevalence to 28 per cent, but warned that the practice remains deeply rooted in some communities.
Also speaking, the Director of Gender at the Osun State Ministry of Women Affairs, Children and Social Welfare dismissed claims that FGM prevents promiscuity and stressed the need to engage men in the campaign, noting that decisions in many homes are influenced by male heads of households.
On prevalence and prevention efforts, the Reproductive Health Coordinator in the Osun State Ministry of Health, Mrs Tolulope Agboire, said progress had been made in reducing FGM in the state. She urged stakeholders to intensify efforts to fully eradicate the practice, stressing that sustained community enlightenment is needed to ensure that those still carrying out FGM abandon it completely.
The Orangun of Ila, Oba Abdulwahab Oyedotun, Bibire I, pledged the support of traditional rulers for efforts to end FGM in Osun State, saying their influence would be used to discourage the practice and protect the health and future of girls across communities.
To buttress his point, the Owa of Igbajo, Oba (Dr.) Ademola Stephen Kayode Makinde appreciated Centre for Comprehensive Promotion of Reproductive Health CCPH for the programme which he described as apt, he added that the traditional rulers will put in effort to ensure that the prevalent rate of around 30-percent comes to zero percent.
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