Mrs. Maureen Zubie Okolo, planning, monitoring, and evaluation specialist, UNICEF Field Office, Enugu, revealed this at a media dialogue in Umuahia in collaboration with the Broadcasting Corporation of Abia State.
Mrs. Okolo stated that in Nigeria, female genital mutilation occurs primarily during childhood, with an estimated 86 percent of females being cut before the age of 5, and 8 percent being cut between the ages of 5 and 14.
The UNICEF specialist said FGM had remained widespread in Nigeria with an estimated 19.9 million survivors, adding that Nigeria accounts for the third-highest number of women and girls who have undergone FGM.
She stated that while the national prevalence of FGM among women in Nigeria aged 15-49 dropped from 25 percent in 2013 to 20 percent in 2018, prevalence among girls aged 0-14 increased from 16.9 percent to 19.2 percent in the same period.
“Millions of girls are being robbed of their childhood, health, education, and aspirations every day by harmful practices such as FGM and child early and forced marriage.
“The practice of FGM not only has no health benefits, but it is also deeply harmful to girls and women both physically and psychologically. It is a practice that has no place in our society today and must be ended, as many Nigerian communities have already pledged to do,” she said.
She said UNICEF was initiating a community-led movement to eliminate FGM in five states of Ebonyi, Ekiti, Imo, Osun, and Oyo where it is highly prevalent, adding that nearly three million girls and women would have undergone FGM in the states in the last five years.
Mrs. Okolo noted that FGM was recognized internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and women. “It reflects deep-rooted inequality between the sexes and is an extreme form of discrimination against girls and women,” she added.
Sir Anyaso Anyaso, director-general of the Abia State Broadcasting Corporation, clearly delineated FGM as any procedure that involves altering or injuring the female genitalia for non-medical reasons.
He expressed regret that girls who are subjected to FGM face both short-term complications such as severe pain, shock, excessive bleeding, infections, and difficulty passing urine, as well as long-term consequences for their sexual and reproductive health and mental health.
Sir Anyaso stated that coordinated and systematic efforts were needed to promote the abolition of FGM, which must involve entire communities and focus on human rights.
