No fewer than seven local government areas in Ebonyi state have publicly denounced the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM).
The communities included Afikpo North, Ebonyi, Izii, Abakaliki, Ohaukwu, with Ivo and Ishielu that just said no to the practice on October 29 and 30 respectively and it was organized by National Orientation Agency NOA with the support of United Children’s Fund, UNICEF.
Speaking during the event, Chief-UNICEF Enugu Field Office Dr. Ibrahim Conteh, represented by the agencies consultant, Benjamin Mbakwem explained that UNICEF with its supporting partners has been working towards achieving a society free of FGM practices.
He said, “since 2015, UNICEF has been supporting the implementing partner to support social norms change through advocacy, dialogue, education, sensitisation, community mobilization, and consensus-building to facilitate community commitments to enhance positive changes on gender and social norms and for the collective abandonment of FGM.
He said while this is going on, girls and women who need FGM-related services are referred for prevention, protection and care services.
“During this period, the engagement with religious leaders and traditional rulers has led them to make public statements delinking FGM from religious requirements, and publicly denounce FGM practices, respectively. We remain grateful to them”.
In his remark, Director National Orientation Agency (NOA), Ebonyi state, Dr. Emmanuel Abah listed the seven local governments in the state that have outlawed FGM to include; Abakaliki, Ebonyi, Izzi, Afikpo North, Ishielu and Ivo LGAs.
He explained that all the communities in the seven local government areas have made open declaration against the age-long practice and that the agency was working on two more local governments in the state to also outlaw the phenomenon.
Abah said, “these communities who have denounced FGM have shown the world that they have abandoned the practice.
The implication is that whoever that does it after the declaration will not claim that he/she is not aware that it has been outlawed.
So, any sanction, any punishment, anything that can be meted by the communities, the person will not claim that he/she is ignorant of it.
The communities can now hand over the recalcitrant people to the law enforcement agents for prosecution.
“Three local governments in Izzi land; Abakaliki LGA, Ebonyi LGA and Izzi LGA have denounced the practice. Ohaukwu, Afikpo North, Ishielu and Ivo LGAs have also denounced it.
The communities in these local governments have made open declaration against FGM. We are working more on two local governments, preparing them for declaration and the whole 13 LGA any moment from now”.
