Female Genital Mutilation, also known as clitoridectomy, has continued to be a social menace the third world has had to deal with for centuries now. Africa is a continent that is adamant to protect its long-lived traditions and cultures, and makes up for the highest number of female genital cuttings cases reported yearly across the third world countries. Even more worrying is the number reported from Nigeria, one of the states of West Africa. According to the UN, though FGM is practiced in more than 28 African countries, its burden is seen in Nigeria, Egypt, Mali, Eritrea and Sudan (UNICEF, 2005). It is sad to note that Nigeria leads the top five African countries with FGM prevalence regarding ethnic composition. FGM is widely practiced in Nigeria, and with its large population, the state records the highest absolute number of cases of FGM in the world, accounting for about one-quarter of the estimated 115 to 130 million circumcised women worldwide. Inside the country, FGM has its highest prevalence in the south-south, recording about 77% of cases, followed by the south-east at 68%. The south-west comes in third place at 65%. All these statistics are among the adult women. Genital cutting is recorded on a microscopic scale in the north. But paradoxically, this region adopts the most extreme form of mutilation; infibulation (Mandara, 2004). The national prevalence rate of FGM stands at 41% among adult women.
While it is correct to say that times have changed and societies continue to embrace modernism, Nigeria is still adamant in carrying out this outdated tradition. Despite international and government interventions to stop this outrageous device due to its harmful nature, native tribes continue to practice it oblivious to the dangers it poses to the victims. Not only is FGM downgrading and a violation of human rights for its victims, but it also poses real medical threats. Victims of the menace have lost their lives times without number over the profuse bleeding after the cut. For the ones that survive death, they risk contracting infections in their private parts due to the unhygienic manner and crude tools used for the cut. Cases of infertility and maternal mortality are very high in females who have undergone Genital mutilation. Victims of the act have also reported the loss of sexual pleasure (Ng, Lam, & Liew, 2000). However, you look at it, there is constantly a risk involved in this practice. If one does not succumb to one threat, they are sure to suffer in the other way. Traditionally, this practice was carried out with the intentions of ensuring and safeguarding a girl's virginity before marriage since sexual purity was considered an honor for the girl's family and would equally grant her honor and respect in her husband's home.
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But times have changed. Traditions change. And this practice that was once meant to ascertain sexual purity now serves to degrade the very girl whose honor it wanted to protect. Initially, the exercise was intended to serve as an initiation ceremony of young girls into womanhood, ensure their virginity and curb promiscuity, and to protect female modesty and chastity. Humanitarians and lobby groups have continued to stage a fierce war against the menace in Nigeria. Laws have been put in place. Strict disciplinary measures have been adopted, and culprits who have been found culpable have had to face the wrath of the law. But still cases of FGM are being reported. While it is true that in the last 30 years prevalence of the practice has decreased by half in some parts of Nigeria, nationally, the country still recorded a 27% population of women between the ages of 15 and 49 who were victims of FGM, or so the 2012 polls stated (Okeke, Anyaehie, & Ezenyeaku, 2012). If we are talking about a 30-year progress in the fight against FGM as a country, then why are there cases of victims who are hardly in their puberty stage among the prevailing numbers? What is the government not doing right? What are the global human rights violations watchdogs not doing right? In May 2015, the former Nigerian President Jonathan Goodluck signed a federal law banning FGM; this move came decades later after Nigeria joined other members of the 47th World Health Assembly in 1994 to resolve to eliminate FGM (Alo & Gbadebo, 2011). While this may be a milestone achievement in the fight, why did it take this long for the government to find the act illegal finally? Not unless such questions are raised and answered truthfully through the drafting of long-term solutions, the country will continue to realize dismal progress in its fight against FGM over quite some years. One of the long-lasting, effective measures to be taken would be a cultural shift. Activists agree that in as much as this new law is a significant step forward in Africa, it will not singularly change the broader violence against women.
It is a common notion in any African culture that males are considered the superior beings and dominate over females. Objectifying females means degrading their value and subjecting them to treatments that are not fit for humans. Not unless people begin to appreciate and respect women, they will continue to be subjected to such demeaning treatments. And again it is time to review some of the cultural practices we believe in. Some of the cultures people hold on to are wayward, degrading and hold no moral values. Research portrays that a majority of people in Nigeria believe that female genital mutilation should be abolished. In fact, 64% of women between the ages of 15 and 49 strongly oppose the practice. In fact, 37% of circumcised women do not want FGM to continue, 61% of whom say it is a wrong, harmful tradition, and 22% say it is against religion while the rest cited medical complications, painful personal experiences, and violation of the female dignity (Caldwell, Orubuloye, & Caldwell, 2000). This begs the question, with such a strong opposition why then has the menace continued to be a painful reality for young women and girls? Cultural perception. That is why. Not only are women forced to abide by a culture they deeply loathe, but they are also forced to submit to their husbands and male figures in the society who are adamant in upholding the traditions of their forefathers. Since women are forced to be submissive to their husbands, they lack the courage and audacity to step up to them and challenge these traditions. If only women were more empowered and enlightened on the roles they play in the society and their ability to influence, this menace would be a thing of the past. What this article is putting across, therefore, is the fact that women need to be empowered to stand on their own and call for shots. In a society that has for so long disregarded the woman, she believes she has no voice in the community, but if only she were made aware of the impact she could have in the abolition of this caveman traditions, real progress could be realized.
The practice of female genital mutilation takes different forms. So which ones does Nigeria practice? The first type is clitoridectomy, the type that is so common to genital mutilation that in other settings it is understood to be the other term for the practice. Clitoridectomy, as the name suggests, is the removal of the clitoral hood and at least part of the clitoris. In Nigeria, this usually involves the excision of only a part of the clitoris (Myers, Omorodion, Isenalumhe, & Gregory, 1985). The other type is Sunna. This is the full removal of the clitoris and part of the labia minora. The most extreme method of genital mutilation is infibulation. This entails removing the clitoris, labia minora, and labia majora. After that, the vaginal opening is stitched with a minuscule hole for urination. This practice is more prevalent in the northern parts of Nigeria while clitoridectomy is common in the south of the country. Other unclassified forms of genital mutilation may involve introcision and gishiri cuts, pricking, stretching, cauterization, the introduction of corrosive substances, scraping and/or cutting of the vagina (angrya cuts), or inserting herbs into the vagina (Dare et al., 2009). In Nigeria, out of the six largest ethnic groups, that is, the Yoruba, Hausa, Fulani, Ibo, Ijaw, and Kanuri, only the Fulani do not practice any form of female genital mutilation. In most of these tribes, the cutting is carried out at a very young age, and the victims (minors) are not given room to give their consent (Garba, Muhammed, Abubakar, & Yakasai, 2012)
Organizations that actively seek to end FGM in Nigeria include the World Health Organization, the UNICEF, the African Union, International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics, the Population Council, among a ton of other non-governmental organizations. These organizations each adopt a distinct approach to the issue at hand. While the government is mainly tasked with punishing culprits of the act, bodies like the Circumcision Descendants Association of Nigeria advocate ending the practice by creating new community-based programs and economic opportunities for those who perform female genital mutilation (Okofo, 2017). Other bodies liaise with the correctional facilities to offer rehabilitation programs to the lawbreakers. After serving their terms, these people come out of the facilities changed and go back to the society as anti-FGM ambassadors. Other strategies adopted have been the establishment of a multisectoral technical working group on harmful traditional practices. Creating awareness is termed as the single most effective tool in fighting this wayward cultural practice.
References
Alo, O. A., & Gbadebo, B. (2011). Intergenerational attitude changes regarding female genital cutting in Nigeria. Journal of Women's Health , 20 (11), 1655-1661.
Caldwell, J. C., Orubuloye, I. O., & Caldwell, P. (2000). Female genital mutilation: Conditions of decline. Population Research and Policy Review , 19 (3), 233-254.
Dare, F. O., Oboro, V. O., Fadiora, S. O., Orji, E. O., Sule-Odu, A. O., & Olabode, T. O. (2004). Female genital mutilation: an analysis of 522 cases in South-Western Nigeria. Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology , 24 (3), 281-283.
Garba, I. D., Muhammed, Z., Abubakar, I. S., & Yakasai, I. A. (2012). Prevalence of female genital mutilation among female infants in Kano, Northern Nigeria. Archives of gynecology and obstetrics , 286 (2), 423-428
Mandara, M. U. (2004). Female genital mutilation in Nigeria. International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics , 84 (3), 291-298.
Myers, R. A., Omorodion, F. I., Isenalumhe, A. E., & Akenzua, G. I. (1985). Circumcision: its nature and practice among some ethnic groups in southern Nigeria. Social science & medicine , 21 (5), 581-588.
Ng, T. Y., Lam, K. Y., & Liew, K. M. (2000). Effects of FGM materials on the parametric resonance of plate structures. Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering , 190 (8-10), 953-962.
Okeke, T. C., Anyaehie, U. S. B., & Ezenyeaku, C. C. K. (2012). An overview of female genital mutilation in Nigeria. Annals of medical and health sciences research , 2 (1), 70-73..
Okofo, L. K. (2017). The Influence of Media Campaign in the Eradication of Female Genital Mutilation Practice in Selected Communities of South-South Nigeria (Doctoral dissertation).
UNICEF. (2005). Female genital mutilation/cutting: a statistical exploration 2005 . Unicef.
