By Christiana Ekpa
The House of Representatives yesterday stressed the need to completely eradicate the practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), empjasising its health and psychological effects on women.
The House decision followed a motion moved on the floor by Ganiyu Abiodun Johnson.
While presenting the motion, the lawmaker said the practice portends dangers to the health and wellbeing of women and girls, ranging from urinary tract infections, infertility, hepatitis to other blood-borne diseases.
He said: “Female genital mutilation is an act of violence against women and girls and amounts to a violation of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act, 2015.
“About 20 million girls and women in Nigeria and 20% of Nigerian women aged between 15 to 49 years are reported to have undergone female genital mutilation in Nigeria
“The United Nations Report published in 2020, reported that Nigeria ranked the third-highest number in cases of female genital mutilation in the world.” he said.
Never miss a moment! Get the stories shaping Nigeria, delivered straight to your phone. Follow Peoplesdaily Newspaper on WhatsApp for breaking news, exclusive reports, and the headlines everyone will be talking about, before anyone else.
