Obaseki seeks intercontinental action against female genital mutilation

Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo has called for intercontinental partnership to eliminate Female Genital Mutilation where it is still practised.
Obaseki made the call in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Communication Strategy, Crusoe Osagie, to journalists in Benin on Tuesday.
According to the statement, the governor spoke at the occasion of the commemoration of the International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM day celebrated on February 6, each year.
Obaseki said: “The campaign to eliminate the age-old practice should be revitalised with inputs from the traditional and religious institutions, women groups,
“alternative medicine practitioners, members of the political class, the organised private sector and civil society organisations.”
He advised that the reinvigoration of the campaign to end FGM should leverage on the power of education and the reach of Information and Communication Technology in changing mindsets, beliefs and convictions.
The governor tasked the media to put the subject matter on the front burner, as “it is a matter of human right’’.
He explained: “Female Genital Mutilation deserves regular press coverage to sensitise people about the health risks associated with the practice and emphasise the fact that it is an act of violence against the girl child and women in general.”
The United Nations explains that FGM comprises “all procedures that involve altering or injuring the female genitalia for non-medical reasons and is recognised internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and women’’.
The practice also violates their rights to health, security and physical integrity, their right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and their right to life when the procedure results in death.