DOROTHY Njemanze, Founder, Dorothy Njemanze Foundation, has called for effective law enforcement to tackle Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in the country.

Njemanze made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja as part of activities to commemorate the International Day for Zero Tolerance for FGM.

She explained that the foundation would continue to fight for the rights of humans, especially females who are forced to be circumcised against their will.

“The practice is done mostly in rural areas and it involves a female clitoris being cut off so that the victim will not be promiscuous.

“Most times, this is done with local implements which are not sterilised. This is done at birth, at puberty or when a woman is pregnant with her first child.

“In some cases, some women lose their lives due to continuous bleeding,” she said.

She added that the practice which was common in some African and Asian countries, with the aim of passing down what they term ‘tradition’, has most times led to different health complications.

“According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), some of the health complications of FGM include painful urination, urinary tract infections, vaginal discharge, itching and painful menstruation.

“Others include pain during intercourse and decreased satisfaction, increased risk of childbirth complications and psychological problems,’’ she said.

The day is celebrated annually on Feb. 6, to raise public awareness on the dangers of FGM and urgent need to stop the practice.

NAN reports that the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) ACT, 2015, stipulates that any person that performs female circumcision or genital cutting or hires another person to do such commits an offence.

The sanction for such act is four years imprisonment or a fine of N200,000, or both. (NAN)

– Feb. 6, 2019 @ 12:29 GMT |