The Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), Lagos State Chapter, on sunday called for naming and shaming of perpetrators of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) as a strategy to end the menace.
The Chairperson, Mrs Adeola Ekine, made the call in a statement in Lagos.
The statement is in commemoration of the 2021 International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation.
The Day had the global theme: “No Time for Global Inaction: Unite, Fund and Act to End Female Genital Mutilation”.
Ekine also called on female journalists to give prominence to stories on FGM and other issues relating to women and girls to push for gender-friendly policies.
She said that efforts must be intensified to eliminate FGM which, she added, could cause death.
Ekine noted that the Lagos State Chapter of NAWOJ had on Saturday organised a conference via Zoom to commemorate the Day.
According to her, four anti-FGM crusaders drawn from some states with high FGM burden, spoke at the conference.
She listed the speakers to include Alhaja Sururah Oyero, an anti-FGM advocate; Costly Abosede Aderibigbe, an FGM survivor, and Dr Oluwatosin Somefun, a Gender/Reproductive Health Analyst with the United Nations Population Fund.
“Mrs MaryJane Ikechukwu-Nwobodo, Director, Reproductive Health, Ebonyi State Ministry of Health, was also a guest speaker at the conference.
“The guests were drawn from some of the states with high rate of FGM –
Osun, Oyo and Ebonyi,” Ekine said.
She said that the guest shared their experiences on female genital mutilation.
“Dr Oluwatosin Somefun, who had worked in Osun, Oyo, Ekiti, Imo, Rivers and Bayelsa states on sexual and reproductive health issues, affirmed that 20 per cent of women from ages 15 years to 49 years, have gone through the pain of genital mutilation.
“She advocated that women who have gone through genital mutilation should be seen as survivors, not victims,” Ekine said.
According to Ekine, the speakers highlighted health problems associated with FGM to include severe pain, excessive bleeding and mental health problem.