The United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA), State Programme Analyst, Mrs. Victoria Egwor-Daaor, has said that Female Genital Mutilation ( FGM) practised in some parts of Benue State has been successfully put to an end.
Egwor-Daaor disclosed this during the celebration of the International Day of the Girl Child, on Thursday, in Makurdi.
According to her, some civil society organisations, non-governmental organisation and state government raised issues of FGM practices in some local governments in Benue.
She said the local governments were Obi, Ado and Oju.
UNFPA came in partnership with the state government and they ensured the people in the areas stopped the harmful practice, she said.
“They were enlightened and educated on the dangers of FGM, health care facilities were established for the people to access medical care. Community health workers were trained to ensure women and the girl child were not exposed to such dangers as FGM, inequality.
“FGM is a cultural practice rooted in attempts to control women’s sexuality under the guise of ensuring purity and modesty in women, which activists describe as the worst form of gender inequality,” she said.
READ ALSO: Buhari tightens tax, money laundering rules, signs new executive order
FGM, she pointed out, must be forbidden because there is no health benefit rather lot of problems are associated with it.
“It is only governments, other supportive groups and donors that can help to achieve zero tolerance in FMG practice by implementing and enforcing laws against such practice, just as it has been achieved in Benue,” she said.
She however advised other unknown communities indulging in such practice to desist from it to restore dignity to humanity and to avail women the opportunity to actualise the gain of womanhood.
Earlier, Mrs Ortom said issues of women, girls and the youth were prioritized in the state by the Ortom administration.
She said the various IDPs in Benue had established schools and entrepreneurial centres to ensure the hope of the Benue youth and women was not lost after the crises that left many displaced.
The event to commemorate the day was organised by the Eunice Spring of Life Foundation, a pet project of the wife of the Governor of Benue, Mrs Eunice Ortom.
The theme was “Empower Girls: Before, During and After Conflicts.”
