Traditional rulers in Odo-Otin and Ilesa West Local Government Areas of Osun State, officials of the Osun State Government and the wife of the Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly have jointly denounced Female Genital Mutilation, describing it as harmful, dishonourable and punishable under the law.
The position was made known during public declaration ceremonies on the abandonment of FGM organised by Action Health Incorporated with support from the United Nations Population Fund, held on Wednesday and Thursday in Odo-Otin and Ilesa West.
Speaking at the ceremony in Okuku on Wednesday, the Oloyan of Oyan, Oba Kilani Adekeye, represented by Chief Adewale Adetunji, said the communities would no longer tolerate FGM, noting that although it was once part of African culture, it comes with many dangers and anyone caught engaging in it would be arrested and face the law.
Also speaking, the Alasaba of Asaba, Oba Ezekiel Oyewusi, said his community banned the practice as far back as 1969 when their fathers resolved that it was not good, adding that it was dishonourable to circumcise female children and that reports showed circumcised women did not enjoy intimacy with their partners, unlike today, when its absence is contributing to happier marriages.
The wife of the Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, Mrs Monsurat Egbedun, called for the campaign against FGM to be taken to every community, affirming her husband’s readiness to support any initiative that would bring an end to female circumcision in the state.
The representative of the Osun State Government, Mrs Tolulope Agboire of the Ministry of Health, who spoke in Okuku and Ilesa, urged the communities to unite in eliminating the practice, stressing that female circumcision is not a solution to promiscuity but causes significant short and long-term harm to women’s bodies and may sometimes lead to death.
Mrs Agboire reminded participants of the legal consequences under the Osun State Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Law, which stipulates that performing FGM or engaging another person to perform it carries a penalty of imprisonment not exceeding four years or a fine not exceeding ₦200,000, or both, and urged residents to report suspected cases to security agencies.
In her remarks, the Programme Officer of Action Health Incorporated, Omolola Adegbite, restated the organisation’s commitment to achieving zero cases of FGM in Osun State, noting that the initiative reflects the joint commitment of UNFPA and AHI to protecting the rights, health and dignity of women and girls.
Religious leaders, market heads, security agencies, youth leaders and community chiefs who spoke at the events also pledged their support for the abandonment of FGM and called on residents to report anyone found engaging in the practice.
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