Okorocha warns Parents against female genital mutilation

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The Governor of Imo State. Owelle Rochas Okorocha has for the umpteenth time warned parents and guardians to stop carrying out Female Genital Mutilation and Cutting (FGM/C) as it destroys the healthiness of girl children.
This issue of ending FMG/C in Imo state was again re-echoed during the sensitization/training programme organized by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with Ministry of Gender and Social Development with support from UNFPA/UNICEF’s Joint programme on FGM/C Abandonment Accelerating Change, as the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Angela Uwakwem noted that the need to continue to talk about FGM/C cannot be overemphasized.
Dr. Uwakwem noted that the program is/has taken place in ten LGAs of Ehime Mbano, Ideato North, Ihitte Uboma, Ikeduru, Ngor Okpala, Oguta, Ohaji/Egbema, Orlu, Owerri Municipal and Owerri West, while calling on the parents and guardians to take advantage of the program. Uwakwem said that FGM/C is the partial or total removal of external genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.
Speaking on the guidelines and case study on FGM/C, Ugochukwu Anozie of CYDI noted that there are four types of FGM/C according to WHO, type 1, Clitoridectomy which is partial or total removal of clitoris and/or the prepuse, type 2, Excision which is partial or total removal of clitoris and the labia minora, with or without excision of the labia majora, type 3, Infibulation which is narrowing of the vaginal orifice with creation of a covering seal by cutting and repositioning the labia minora and/or the labia majora with or without excision of the clitoris and type 4, unclassified which is other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for nonmedical purposes for example pricking, pulling, piercing, incising, scraping and cauterization.
Anozie posited that there is no medical, not even biblical reason for FGM/C as in Genesis 17:10-14 only stated that male children be circumcised, while calling on all and sundry to pull Imo state out of the five states where FGM/C is high in Nigeria, adding that Imo state ranks 68% according to 2013 Nigeria Demographic Health Survey.

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