Wife of Osun State Governor, Kafayat Oyetola, has urged all relevant stakeholders and organizations to collaborate and work together to make the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) law effective in the state.
She said this in Osogbo, the state capital on Monday during a strategic meeting on strengthening the implementation of the VAPP law so as to stop any form of violence again women and girls in the state.
She also appealed to residents of the state to desist from indulging in female circumcision in order not to run foul of the VAPP law.
The VAPP law was passed by the Osun Assembly in August with the advocacy efforts of the Wife of the Governor, Kafayat Oyetola and other stakeholders.
The law which was signed by Governor Gboyega Oyetola in October strengthened the punishment for the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) with a four years jail term for violators.
Sections 7 of the VAPP law stipulates that a person who performs FGM or engages another to carry out FGM commits an offence and liable on conviction to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 4 years or to a fine not exceeding N200,000 or both.
Oyetola said female genital mutilation is a harmful traditional practice and that the law was put in place to ensure that women and girls live healthy and complete life.
She said her desire was to ensure that the law is actively put into use to cause a stop to the practice of female genital mutilation or cutting in the state.”
She lauded the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and Action Health Incorporated (AHI) for their support towards eradication of FGM in the state.
According to the First Lady: “We have been talking about the female genital mutilation component of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition law of Osun State. Our desire is to ensure that this law not only exists de jure but also get actively put into use to cause a stop to the practice of female genital mutilation or cutting in our state.”
“The road to the passage of this law has been laced with much work and advocacy. One group of persons I would never cease to acknowledge and praise the Osun House of Assembly. The Speaker and his members have been so astounding in their support for the campaign against FGM. The support had led to the passage of this law thereby strengthening legal framework on female genital mutilation.
“The VAPP law was passed by the National Assembly in 2015. The law was required for domestication in every State of the Federation. Until some couple of months ago, we could not achieve this feat in Osun. I thank God that now we could beat our chest and stand tall among the States that have virile legal instruments to tackle the practice of female genital mutilation or female circumcision.
“The law has been so clear on what constitute the practice of female genital mutilation and what punishment await those who engage in it. Also, those who intend to engage or try to frustrate the reporting of the offence were captured in the sections 7 and 21 of the law.
“Female Genital Mutilation is nothing other than unleashing of violence on the girls and women for no justifiable purpose. It is a practice that must not continue. Although through the active work of the State Task Group on FGM, we have received encouraging report about the shift in the practice of FGM in Osun, our goal of complete elimination of the practice is yet to attained.
“Now that we have strong legal instrument to help our work as Committee, I can only urge us to work in collaboration with all relevant persons and organizations to make this law effective. We should know that no matter how good a law is, it will not be able to achieve its desired goal unless people put the law to use. We must encourage active whistle-blowing on those who still practice female genital mutilation.
“We also must collaborate with our law enforcement officers and the judiciary to see to speedy and effective prosecution of cases. If we are desirous of eliminating female genital mutilation in our society, we should not keep quiet and watch this practice continue. We must take advantage of the protection that this law offers and make our State safe for our women and our girls.
“We are determined to step up the campaigns to eliminate and prevent every form of violence against persons, women, girls, boys and men in our State. The opportunity of the 16 days of activism provides us with a platform to further create awareness on the need to eliminate and prevent traditional harmful practices that FGM is, sexual and gender-based violence, intimate partner violence, economic violence and political violence.
“I thank our development partner, the UNFPA for the constant supports it has given to our State in the advocacy drive on the issue of female genital mutilation. I thank each one of us for the commitment to this task of eliminating FGM”, Oyetola said.
Speaking at the event, the UNFPA Gender/FGM Analyst Uzoma Ayodeji noted that the FGM prevalence rate in the state has reduced to 45.9% and advocated for more efforts ensure total elimination of the practice.
Ayodeji commend the First Lady for her advocacy efforts in ensuring the passage of the law to protect and promote the rights of women and girls.
Her words, “UNFPA is the United Nations leading agency in Sexual and Reproductive Health. One of our three transformative goals is to end all forms of violence against women and girls which is experienced by 1 in 3 women in Nigeria. UNFPA, jointly with UNICEF, leads the largest global and national programme in Nigeria to accelerate the elimination of FGM. The United Nations Joint Programme provides support to Nigeria in elimination of Harmful traditional practices including FGM.”
Ayodeji explained that Female Genital Mutilation/cutting is the partial or total removal of the female external genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for cultural or other non-therapeutic reasons, according to WHO, UNICEF, and UNFPA, 1997). She added that FGM is an age long harmful traditional practice said to be for the socialization of women, for curbing their sexual appetites and for preparing them for marriage.
She said, “Despite its perceived cultural importance, it is an internationally recognized human rights violation of women and girls. In addition, FGM has potential for both short and long-term medical complications, as well as harm to reproductive health and infringement on women’s rights (Toubia, 1995). With support from UNFPA and other partners from 2013 till date, the prevalence of FGM has declined considerably in Osun state from 76% to 45.9% (NDHS 2018)”.
“This meeting is timely in this season of the 16 Days of Activism campaign, themed: Ending all forms of Gender-Based Violence. With support from Her Excellency Mrs Kafayat Oyetola and the rest of the members of the GBV Management Committee, we advocate for the implementation of the VAPP law in Osun State and hope to eradicate FGM, this age long cultural practice which has left many survivors with pains, agony and complications by 2030 in Osun State”, she said.
Ayodeji assured that UNFPA will continue to advocate in Osun State against harmful traditional practices including FGM which violates the human rights of women and girls.
The AHI Program Officer, Arinola Alabi said FGM must be addressed through a holistic and comprehensive approach with a focus on prevention. She also commended the wife of the Governor and all stakeholders in the state for their commitment to end FGM.
Arinola said Action Health Incorporated in collaboration with the Ministry of Women, Children & Social Affairs and Health with support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) was implementing various intervention activities on accelerating the abandonment of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in Osun State.
According bro her, “Action Health Incorporated believes that harmful practices such as FGM cannot be addressed in isolation and that they need to be treated through a holistic and comprehensive approach to all forms of violence, with a focus on prevention. In the past six years, several project activities have been conducted towards the eradication of FGM Practices in over 15 Local Governments.
“AHI has worked with the State Ministries to organize high-level dialogues with state actors, community dialogues, built consensus with community stakeholders, trained community champions, health workers, Traditional Birth Attendants and Auxiliary Nurses to garner support for the abandonment of FGM. Thus far, over 100 communities have conducted public declaration ceremonies. It was also a great privilege to have her Excellency at one of these public declarations at Ilobu town, Irepodun LGA on the 30th July 2021.”
Arinola said the VAPP law is designed to tackle “all forms of violence against persons in private and public life” and provide “maximum protection and effective remedies for victims and punishment of offenders.”
According to her: “The VAPP law focuses on globally acceptable deterrents in the form of punishments for offenders and also includes provisions for the financial compensation of victims. Ultimately, the purpose of the VAPP law is to reduce the equality gap between men and women in the Osun State as well as cut down the incidence of GBV which disproportionately affects women and girls.
While the signing of the VAPP law by the Executive Governor, Gboyega Oyetola is a critical step, we need to ensure the implementation of the law towards ending FGM and other violence against women.
This is why Action Health Incorporated is proud to be collaborating with the UNFPA to support the simplification, validation and translation of the VAPP law into English and Yoruba, she added.
Arinola said AHI would continue to improve the well-being of the women and girls in the state. She expressed gratitude to the First lady for her efforts on eradication of FGM in the state.
A prominent traditional ruler in the state, the Olowu of Kuta Kingdom, Oba Hammed Adekunle Makama Oyelude Tegbosun III said the traditional institution would support implementation of the law.