Deborah Ocheni The Minister of Women Affairs, Imaan SulaimanIbrahim, has called for urgent, collective and sustained action against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).
She described the practice as not merely a cultural practice but a fundamental breach of human dignity, a direct assault on the total well-being of women and girls, and a significant impediment to sustainable development.
The minister made this call while speaking on the theme,”Stepping Up the Pace: Strengthening Alliance and Building Movements to End Female Genital Mutilation on the International Day of Zero Tolerance For FGM” held in Abuja.
Sulaiman-Ibrahim said the call reinforced the commitment of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda to strengthen laws, scale up community interventions, and drive behavioural and cultural change.
She added: “Today, we will share our template, outline our multi-sectoral strategy, and the collective action needed to accel – erate efforts on ending Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) once and for all.”
The FGM practice, which has remained a critical issue in Nigeria with the highest burden of 19.9 million women and girls affected, behoves on Nigeria to chart the course in eliminating this harmful practice.
Worried about the survey by the National Demographic & Health Survey (NDHS) 2018, which places a prevalent rate at 20% among women aged 15-49, Sulaiman-Ibrahim stressed that the statistics underscores the urgent need for intensified action, noting that the physical, psychogical and socioeconomic consequences of FGM are profound and far reaching, impeding Nigeria’s progress towards Key sustainable Goals.
