By Mashe Umaru Gwamna
Wife of fomer Governor of Ondo state, Mrs Olukemi Mimiko said female genital mutilation must be stopped outrightly in various communities across Nigeria.
She said :”We must shout out message loud. We must campaign in our offices, public places and our communities for everyone to know that female genital mutilation must be stopped ”.
Mimiko made the call at a book launch of OGORIRE(Our Blood, TheirBond), by Kunle Awojemila on Thursday in Abuja.
She explained that female circumcision is a horrible experience and no female children should pass through that devastating experience.
“It has a serious disadvantage to that female child, ranging from difficulty in childbearing, infections and poor sexual intercourse”.
She reiterated that, “There are some stories of women that have killed theirselves because of severe pains.
“We are advocating, it is not just a play book, it is a content of message that should be passed to various communities.
“ OGORIRE reminds us all that the war against genital mutilation should be won in our communities. No girl child should be left behind. Let the message be clear to us.”
Also speaking, Director Special Duties office of Head of Service of the federation, Olowoofoyeku Olusojio noted the book, OGORIRE, is very important adding that the message should go beyond here, inorder to stop the practice.
“There is a need to educate the circumcisers on the consequences and they she be empowered economically to stop the dangerous practices”.
Meanwhile, the Author of the book: OGORIRE, Kunle Awojemila, stated that, female circumcision is a barbaric culture that needs to be stopped.
“We hoped that people will read the book, and change the culture.
Awojemila revealed that the next stage is to introduce the books in secondary schools.
“ We will also hit tertiary institutions and also the youth copers.
“ We intend to partner with ministry of health and hospitals. We will commence campaign on various social media handles to to educate the public”, he said.
