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FUTURE AFRICA WITHOUT FGM(YOU ARE SAFE NOW)

The Summer break was fast approaching and my mother asked me how I will like to spend the holiday, I enthusiastically told my mum that I will very much love to visit my maternal grandmother who resides in a small town in Southwestern Nigeria called Atakumosa. It was so nice to see my Grandma she gave me a warm long embrace and time stood still, I had missed her! Being in her home was so nostalgic. The following day that I assist in decluttering the guest room, while cleaning out a huge cabinet, I stumbled on a stack of old newspapers, I have always loved going through newspaper columns, a particular headline caught my attention, it read:” FGM: A Malicious Act against Women”. The questions that ran through my mind were: What is FGM? Why is it an act against women in Particular? I hurriedly flipped through to get to the page. The writer explained that Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is widely practiced in African countries and Nigeria ranks third on the list of these countries. It was defined as a cultural practice which entails a total or partial removal of the external female genitalia which was not medically beneficial unlike male circumcision. The consequences of FGM included increased risk of child birth complications, severe bleeding with could lead to death, painful sexual intercourse, Urinary tract infections etc. I dropped the newspaper in dismay and ran to my Grandma who was outside in the garden tending to her vegetables, I was in tears, she got up with a start, frantically querying the reason I was sobbing uncontrollably as she held me. I looked up at her and asked Grandma why is such violence meted against young girls? She peered into my face and said: “my dear it was done in the days of ignorance, I was a victim who suffered the sexual consequences and I swore that my daughters will not pass through the same ordeal and even when pressure mounted from your grandfather’s family, I didn’t budge. FGM has been abolished, it is no more practiced in Nigeria and Africa as a whole. It was a long and fierce battle but with stringent State and Federal laws and sensitizations from NGOs as well, FGM has been eradicated. She gave me a peck on my forehead as she whispered into my ear, you are safe now”.

86 Responses

  22. Great Writing. The practice has persisted because it is rooted in patriarchy which is the foundation of our society. Although, FGM has been ‘abolished’ in Nigeria for instance. Results from surveys still show that there are people who still support the practice, which implies that we still have a lot of work to do to finally eradicate such practice from our society.

  35. Thanks for sharing with us the story on FGM. I bet, it must have been a heart wrenching and disturbing article to read . To think FGM is still prevalent in some part of the world. It is such a sad situation to the helpless female children. We should continue to preach of the negative effect of FGM on women and I think this is a great platform to do so. Once again thanks for sharing your experience.

  43. Impeccable write up our there. The Campaign on FGM needs to proliferated more and more considering the adverse effect, and consequences on females. well done.

  46. Very beautiful piece. I enjoyed reading it. I really do hope FGM in Nigeria is totally eradicated in every sense of the word

  61. Beautiful! FGM has been an aged long cultural practice with no benefits whatsoever to women, instead it endangers the girls who are exposed to infections, bleeding and long term defects. FGM is horrible and there are several types with infibulation being the absolute worse. FGM is a barbaric practice and perpetrators of such act should be made to face the wrath of the law.

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