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The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is worried over the rise in Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in Oyo state.
The agency emphasized the need for stakeholders’ partnership to stem the rise in FGM cases in the state.
The Chief Child Protection, UNICEF, Mr Ibrahim Sesay,who disclosed this at a state level engagement with stakeholders,said 32 per cent of children from zero to 14 years experience genital mutilation, compare with the national average, which he put at 31 per cent.
“We see that Oyo State is one of the critical locations, we really need to focus on, if we are to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal by ensuring that we don’t have any harm or violence against women’s and girls in the state.
“The trends are no longer going down. We have seen an upward surge, especially among children that are below one when there are festivities.
“At time like this, is when we need to galvanise the support of traditional rulers, women’s organisations, religious leaders to see that we stop the cutting,” Sesay said.
Besides, the UNICEF FGM Consultant, South-West, Mrs Aderonke Olutayo, said that in spite of the domestication of laws prohibiting the practice, there has been no enforcement, nor prosecution of any offender.
Olutayo said that in the state sharp objects of any type, including broken bottles were being used to cut the female genital, removing up to three to five skin level from the female genital.
“The prevalence of FGM in Oyo State as at 2018, has reduced to 31.1 per cent from 66.1 per cent in 2013, which is still very large, but we want to bring it down to zero level.
“The bottleneck is that, we are not able to work in all the local government areas in Oyo State, because they are 33 and we are only working in eight local government areas.
“We brought all the stakeholders in all the local government areas together to ensure that they all denounce FGM in one voice and take the awareness to their various communities and localities,” she said.
Olutayo said that the agency would put up a programme to target Iseyin Local Government area from Sept.12 to Sept.14 to campaign against the traditional festival in Iseyin, where female children were rounded up for circumcision.
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