By Shafa’atu Suleiman
Nigeria Association of Women Journalists, NAWOJ Sokoto, has stressed the need to intensify efforts towards eliminating female genital mutilation (FGM) noted internationally as a violation of human rights the health and integrity of girls and women.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) describes FGM as “the partial or total removal of external female genitalia or other injuries to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.”
It adds that FGM can cause severe bleeding and problem urinating, later cysts infections, complications in childbirth, and increased risk of newborn deaths.
The UN General Assembly had in 2012 designed February 6 as thebInternational Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation.
In an interview in Sokoto, the State Chairperson Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), Hajiya Rakiya Muhammad, urged concerted efforts to eradicate the harmful traditional practice.
She noted a recent UNICEF statement, which revealed Nigeria accounts for about 19.9m survivors, recording the third-highest number of women and girls who have undergone FGM worldwide.
“United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) statistics show 68million girls worldwide are at risk of FMG between 2015 and 2030,” she also pointed out.
“All hands must be on deck to endbfemale genital mutilation and the attendant consequences.”
The chairperson identified the need to redress the health needs of women and girls who suffer from FGM consequences.
She expressed the readiness of the association to join forces with other organisations to strengthen the impact of the campaign against the violation of the human rights of girls and women.
