By Ayodele Abere.
The Gender Coordinator for Family Planning and Gender Issues at the Ministry of Health and Human Services in Ekiti State, Mrs Olukemi Akinleye, has described the practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), as a barbaric act and violation of human right which should be done away with.
Akinleye, who was one of the resource persons at the capacity building workshop organized for stakeholders on Female Genital Mutilation, policies and laws, made the remarks while speaking with Journalists in Ado-Ekiti, the State capital. She said the objective of the workshop was to build capacity of the media practitioners to campaign against the practice in Ekiti State.
Reacting to the fact that Ekiti State still ranks high in the practice of FGM among the States in the Southwest, despite the high level of campaign against the act in the State, she attributed the factor responsible for such to the fact that, people are not speaking out when they see where it is being practiced, adding that if the people practicing it are caught and the law in place is used against them, it will serve as a deterrent to others. Akinleye said.
“People believe they are not using the law against them and that they can do and undo. That’s why the incident is still high in Ekiti State”. Noting that people are very difficult to change, She urged that they should always embrace the positive aspects of the cultures and traditions of the land, and do away with the negative ones such as FGM.
The health practitioner said, Female Genital Mutilation usually harms and does not bring any good to the life of a girl child and women, stating that the only thing it brings to the life of girl child and women is health complications which could be short term complications, long term complications and psychological complications.
“We want people to know that FGM is a practice they shouldn’t be involved in. People of the communities should endeavour to speak out whenever they see anybody doing it. As we are in our various homes, we cannot see everything that happens within the communities. They are the ones that can help us by telling us that the act is being practiced and when this is reported, government will be able to take necessary legal actions”.
Stressing further, “when people look at the reasons why they are doing it, it’s because of the cultural beliefs. Mrs Akinleye explained that the wife of Ekiti State Governor, Her Excellency, Erelu Bisi Fayemi, is doing a lot of activities on Female Genital Mutilation and harmful traditional practices. Saying in spite of all these, people are still doing it.
Mrs Olukemi Akinleye, therefore advised the upcoming ladies in the State not to allow themselves to be influenced probably by their mother in-laws or anyone who might be telling them that if you don’t mutilate your child, this and that is what would happen. If they are able to stand their ground, it will stop. She concluded.
The Coordinator of Sexual Assault Referral Centre and Executive Director of Gender Relevance Initiative Promotion (GRIP), in Ekiti State, Barrister Rita Ilevbare, speaking from the legal angle, explained that government has put laws, policies and structures in place. She said it is now left for the citizens to do their own part by reporting the perpetrators of the act.
According to the legal practitioner, the law in place is programmed towards prevention and that, information is very key which was why Hacey Health Initiative in conjunction with Ministry of Health and Human Services, is training the key stakeholders and the media to help take the message forward for people to really understand what FGM is all about, it implications, the consequences, the harm it can do to individuals and to community. More importantly, for the citizens to know that there is a law that has a punitive effects on Gender Based Violence especially FGM and the penalty involved which is nothing less than two years imprisonment and nothing less than two hundred thousand naira fine.
The goal of the law according to her, is not to wait for the offence to be committed so that the offender can be sent to prison. The intention of the law is to prevent FGM. Barrister Ilevbare explained.
“With all the efforts of government, we still have people perpetrating FGM, we need the press to take the message forward so that members of the public can actually come forward to report at the Police Station, Civil Defense Office, Gender Units across the local governments, Office of the Public Defender, Gender and Vulnerable Persons Unit of the Office of the wife of the Governor, Ministry of Women Affairs, Ministry of Health and any NGO”.
The Barrister said, FGM encompasses so many offenses which ranges from the cutting itself, the emotional violence which is also a crime. You have willfully put somebody in fear because you can’t bring all those blades and other instruments out and the person you want to cut won’t be afraid. Said she.
Adding that there are series of counts of charges against the perpetrators, noting that there is a very proactive Ministry of Justice that prosecutes very efficiently and that the State Government is also supporting the police in terms of equipment and training. She advised the people who are already victims of Gender Based Violence, who are traumatized or who need medical attention to access free medical services at the State Sexual Assault Referral Centre, otherwise known as Moremi Clinic, at Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital.
Another facilitator, the Project Lead for the Stop Cut Project of Hacey Health Initiative, Mr. Bamidele Oyewumi, said the programme was simultaneously held in two other States in the Southwest, that’s, Osun and Oyo States, to ensure that end is brought to Female Genital Mutilation in the society.
Oyewumi, therefore called on the community leaders to speak to their people to discontinue from practicing FGM. Saying individuals should serve as gatekeepers and whistle blowers to ensure that seen cases are reported accordingly.
