6 towns end female genital mutilation in Osun

Six communities in Osun State have declared an end female genital mutilation. The communities are Iragbiji, Aagba, Egbeda, Iludun, Erin-Osun and Iludun in Boripe and Ifelodun local government areas of the state.

The consensus was reached after a campaign against the practice, sensitization and sustained advocacy by the United Nations Population Fund in partnership with the Action Health Incorporated (AHI), the people of the town reached a consensus to abandon the practice.

Speaking on behalf of the communities yesterday, a foremost traditional ruler in the state, the Aragbiji of Iragbiji, Oba Abdul Rasheed Olabomi, represented by the Inurin of Iragbiji, Chief Raji Isiaka, said female genital mutilation would no longer be practised in the communities because of its danger.

AHI Programme Officer, Akpunonu Amaka Cynthia Akpunonu, said the focus of the consensus was to ensure that the people willingly abandoned the practice after being convinced. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo says there is no justification for Nigeria’s low investment in girl child education.

SpeakingThursday when three women groups visited him at his residence in Abeokuta, he said: “There are three areas where I believe all of us in this country have to work on. One is female child education. We’re still lagging behind and there’s no reason, culturally or religiously and even socially why the girl child should not have the same opportunities, the same access to education as the male child.”

“Second one is child marriage, when you’ve to marry off the girl child at the age of 13, 14 of course, we know that her education is short circuited and when her education is short circuited it affects her for the rest of her live.”