The Kwara State Ministry of Social Development has embarked on sensitisation tour of local governments in the state to educate communities on the implications of engaging in female circumcisions.
The state Commissioner for Social Development, Hajia Mariam Nnafatima Imam PhD, while speaking through the Director of Social Welfare of the ministry, Elder James Kayode David, warned the people who are still engaging in the practice of female circumcisions to desist from the act or face legal consequences.
Speaking in separate remarks at Bode Saadu, Ijagbo, Ira, Okaka, Taiwo, Isale Koko, among other places visited, the commissioner disclosed that individuals who are caught practising female genital mutilation are predisposed to imprisonment among other charges to be given by the state government as backed up by the Nigerian law.
The commissioner, who condemned fememale genital mutilation , wondered why people would be engaging in what is religiously condemned.
She advised the public to adequately secure the future of their female children, saying there are long term disadvantages of female genital mutilation.
According to Hajia Imam, apart from low libido which genital mutilation can cause on the part of the affected children, their health is also at the risk of being altered.
She disclosed that they are also predisposed to dangerous and incurable diseases like tetanus, Hepatitis B virus, HIV, among other diseases resulting from the use of unsterilised tools in the process.
She added that genital mutilation can also cause the affected girl children childlessness and psychological trauma in the future, advising the public not to engage in the practice.
The commissioner therefore enjoined the people to report anyone who goes against the government order on female genital mutilation to the appropriate authority for proper action.
Also in his remarks, the Deputy Director of Social Welfare of the ministry, Alhaji Hamzat Oladimeji Fatai, advised the public to heed the state government’s advice on female genital mutilation, describing the it as a harmful traditional practice.
He advised the people to always seek medical attention and not to engage the services of road side practitioners even when it involves male circumcisions.
People in different communities, visited by the team of the ministry, all agreed to comply with the state government’s zero tolerance for female genital mutilation, just as they promised to spread the message across to their various communities.
The advocacy programme is in collaboration with Global Hope for Women and Children Foundation (GLOHWOC) with support from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
