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By Chidiebere Onyemaizu
Female Genital Mutilation, FGM, a crude cultural initiation rite for young girls into womanhood, is a deeply entrenched harmful practice, primarily practiced in Sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia. FGM constitutes a profound violation of the human rights of girls and women. As of this year, 2026, statistics show that estimated 230 million girls and women alive have undergone FGM in 30 countries across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. The United Nations Population Fund, UNPFA estimates that this year, 4.5 million girls are at risk of being subjected to FGM while the World Health Organisation, WHO estimates that some 19 million women in Nigeria has already undergone FGM.The practice, which involves the partial or total removal of external female genitalia, has no health benefits and leads to devastating physical, psychological, and social consequences.
WHO lists short-term health risks of FGM to include:
Severe pain: Cutting the nerve ends and sensitive genital tissue causes extreme pain. The healing period is also painful.
Excessive bleeding (haemorrhage): Can result if the clitoral artery or other blood vessel is cut.
Shock: Can be caused by pain, infection and/or haemorrhage.
Genital tissue swelling: Due to inflammatory response or local infection.
Infections: May spread after the use of contaminated instruments (e.g. use of same instruments in multiple genital mutilation operations), and during the healing period.
Urinary problems. These may include urinary retention and pain passing urine. This may be due to tissue swelling, pain or injury to the urethra.
Impaired wound healing. Can lead to pain, infections and abnormal scarring.
Death: Death can result from infections, including tetanus, as well as haemorrhage that can lead to shock.
Mental health proble: The pain, shock and the use of physical force during the event, as well as a sense of betrayal when family members condone and/or organize the practice, are reasons why many women describe FGM as a traumatic event.
On the other hand, long-term health risks of FGM (occurring at any time during life), according to WHO include:
Pain: Due to tissue damage and scarring that may result in trapped or damaged nerve endings.
Infections: Chronic genital infections. With consequent chronic pain, and vaginal discharge and itching. Cysts, abscesses and genital ulcers may also appear.
Chronic reproductive tract infections: May result in chronic back and pelvic pain.
Urinary tract infections. If not treated, urinary tract infections can ascend to the kidneys, potentially resulting in severe complications. An increased risk of repeated urinary tract infections is well documented in both girls and adult women who have undergone FGM.
Painful urination: Due to obstruction of the urethra and recurrent urinary tract infections.
Vaginal problems: Discharge, itching, bacterial vaginosis and other infections.
Menstrual problems: Obstruction of the vaginal opening may lead to painful menstruation (dysmenorrhea) and difficulty in passing menstrual blood, particularly among women with Type III FGM.
Excessive scar tissue (keloids): Excessive scar tissue can form at the site of the cutting.
Sexual health problems: FGM damages anatomic structures that are directly involved in female sexual function, and can have an effect on women’s sexual health and well-being. Removal of, or damage to, highly sensitive genital tissue, especially the clitoris, may affect sexual sensitivity and lead to sexual problems, such as decreased sexual desire and pleasure, pain during sex, difficulty during penetration, decreased lubrication during intercourse, and reduced sexual pleasure. Scar formation, pain and traumatic memories associated with the procedure can also be related to sexual dysfunction.
Childbirth complications (obstetric complications): FGM is associated with an increased risk of caesarean section, postpartum haemorrhage, episiotomy, difficult labour, obstetric tears/lacerations, instrumental delivery, prolonged labour, and extended maternal hospital stay.
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Obstetric fistula: A direct association between FGM and obstetric fistula has not been established. However, given the causal relationship between prolonged and obstructed labour and fistula, and the fact that FGM is also associated with prolonged and obstructed labour, it is reasonable to presume that both conditions could be linked in women living with FGM.
Perinatal risks: Obstetric complications can result in a higher incidence of infant resuscitation at delivery and intrapartum stillbirth and neonatal death.
Mental health problems: Studies have shown that girls and women who have undergone FGM are more likely to experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety disorders, depression and somatic (physical) complaints (e.g. aches and pains) with no organic cause.
FGM is an age long practice rooted in superstition, religious and tradition beliefs, and ignorance. In Nigeria advocacy against FGM by faith and health-based non-profit organisations has largely failed to thaw the practice. FGM persists in several parts of the country, particularly rural communities in Southeastern, South Southern, Southwestern and North Central regions of Nigeria despite government’s pronouncements against it. There are indeed promulgated laws against the practice but anti-FGM advocacy and rights groups blame weak implementation of such laws or the lack of the political will to implement them, for the persistent violation of the rights of young girls.
The primary law against FGM in Nigeria is the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act (VAPP) of 2015, which federally criminalized FGM, including attempts, aiding, or abetting. While the VAPP Act applies in the Federal Capital Territory, many states have also adopted it or have separate state-level laws prohibiting FGM.Section 6 of the VAPP Act specifically prohibits genital mutilation of women and girls, with fines and imprisonment as penalties. A careful perusal of the provisions in the Nigerian Constitution and in The Child Rights Act indicates FGM is not explicitly mentioned.The 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (CFRN) which is the supreme law of the land provides in Section 34 that “no person shall be subjected to any form of torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”. FGM indeed falls under the foregoing categories and thus can be punishable under this section. The Child Rights Act (CRA), which was passed in 2003 in Nigeria also has some provisions that outlaws this practice. Section 11(B) of this Act provides also that “no child shall be subjected to any form of torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”. However from the two foregoing provisions, there is no specific mention of FGM. It was because of this lacuna fact that some lawyers, right groups and anti-FGM campaigners in Nigeria rallied round and commenced concerted advocacy for a Law which would specifically mention FGM as a criminal offence.
It was as a result of this push, that in 2015 under President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration that the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act (VAPP) Act was passed into law. This particular Act specifically mentioned FGM as a criminal act. It also made FGM and other forms of Gender based violence like rape, spousal battery, forceful ejection from home, harmful widowhood practices etc punishable offences in Nigeria. Apart from this, the VAPP Act also made provisions for the maximum protection of victims and also for the effective remedies for victims.
Despite these laws, enforcement remains challenging, and the practice persists in some parts of the country due to cultural traditions.Ifunnaya, now 25 and an indigene of Enugu state, was 10 years old when she became a victim of FGM. She stared into a blank space, her face wearing a sad visage and intermittent tears cascaded her cheeks as she narrated her sordid FGM ordeal over a decade ago.
According to her she was subjected to horrific mutilation during what a her family had described as a “traditional rite of passage” meant to prepare her for womanhood.
At 10, Ifunnaya whose name means “Love” in her Igbo language dialect neither found love nor protection from those- her mother and grandmother-that ought to be her refuge. Instead, in the name of upholding a cultural practice, they were the ones that delivered her to be “mutilated”. Of course, she had little or no understanding of what was about to befall her. Ifunnaya was told she was going to visit an elderly woman in the village for a special ceremony. Excited at first, she dressed in her best clothes, unaware that fear and pain awaited her.
When they arrived, she noticed several women gathered in a small room. Their faces were stern, and the atmosphere felt strange. Before she could ask questions, she was held down by older women, including relatives she trusted. During the procedure her mother avoided her eyes. Her grandmother said it was a necessary tradition, something every “good girl” must endure before she could be respected or attract suitors. Ifunnaya cried and struggled, terrified and confused.
Without anesthesia or proper medical care, the procedure was carried out on her were with a crude blade. The pain was immediate and searing.Ifunnaya screamed until her voice became hoarse.
She recalled feeling a burning, tearing sensation followed by dizziness and weakness.The ordeal did not end there. In the days that followed, she suffered severe bleeding and infection. Walking became difficult, and she could barely sit upright. Because discussing the experience was considered taboo in the community, she was told to remain silent and “be brave.”
Days after when she returned to school, Ifunnaya became a shadow of her old self: She became withdrawn and sad-faced. She no longer played with her mates during break time and avoided conversations whenever her female classmates joked about growing up or marriage.
The emotional scars proved just as deep as the physical ones. Ifunnaya felt betrayed by the adults she trusted. For years, she struggled with fear, anxiety, and shame. As she grew older, she also faced recurring health complications and emotional distress whenever the mutilation experience came to her mind. At 25, Ifunnaya’s sex life is almost non- existence as she finds no pleasure in it nor enthusiastic about marriage- direct consequences of the brutal FGM she had suffered. She fear that no man will cope with “a frigid woman like me”
Ifunnaya’s ordeal highlights the painful reality faced by many youngs girls across different regions of Nigeria- girls subjected brutal FGM. However, while the bad news is that government at all levels in Nigeria, apparently careful not to offend or dislocated cultural and religious sensibilities of some regions, given the country’s diversity, has continued to turn blind eyes to the obnoxious practice, the good news, however, is that FGM victims and survivors such as Ifunnaya are today speaking out and are helping to raise awareness about the health and psychological implications of FGM. They are also supporting efforts by international organizations such as United Nations Children’s Fund and World Health Organization, UNICEF to end the practice.
According to Barrister Ugwu Somtochukwu Nnamdi of Society for the Improvement of Rural People (SIRP), as at 2018, 20 million women and girls had been mutilated in Nigeria and yet there has been no conviction.In some communities in Enugu state, South east Nigeria, FGM is cruelty performed on female infants eight days after birth, and in most cases, parents of such infants have no say or power to prevent their child from being mutilated as according to tradition, is usually the prerequisite for naming the new born.FGM is usually carried out on the eight day after birth, to coincide with the child’s naming ceremony, which is a festive event with gifts and refreshments. The naming and cutting are linked. Interestingly, poor and vulnerable mothers can hardly openly prevent their girl children from undergoing FGM because it would also mean that there won’t be naming ceremony.
Apart from Nigerian government’s apparent inability to enforce existing anti- FGM laws, experts and stakeholders say other factors are also responsible for the continuation of the practice in some areas of the country. One of such factors is the coexistence of English common law, customary law, and Islamic law in some areas of Nigeria which allows traditional practices to often supersede national laws.
Another factor is fear of social exclusion or stigmatization by some families if they do not follow the tradition. This often lead to continued practice despite awareness of the legal ban.
Myths, superstition and ignorance also play roles. Many rural dwellers falsely believe that FGM enhances fertility and prevents promiscuity among women.
Besides, FGM is not carried out in the open. It is a cultural procedure performed in secret, with families conspiring to hide the activity, making it difficult for law enforcement to identify offenders and punish them.
To effectively enforce laws against FGM, the Nigerian government must fully domesticate the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) (VAPP) Act 2015 in all states, train law enforcement to prosecute perpetrators, and empower local communities to abandon the practice. Strengthening surveillance to combat medicalized FGM and creating dedicated offender registries are also essential steps.
Synchronisation of the FGM law is also advised. While the VAPP Act is a federal law, states must fully domesticate and implement it to make FGM illegal nationwide.Law enforcement agents, including police and judiciary officials must also be trained on FGM laws to better investigate and prosecute cases, ensuring perpetrators are held accountable.Similarly Health authorities must strictly monitor and penalize medical personnel who engage in FGM and as a matter of urgency government officials must work with traditional and religious leaders to change social norms and conduct massive, targeted awareness campaigns at the local level, using radio, town halls, and local languages.
• Onyemaizu is an Editorial staff of The Sun Newspaper and can be reached @[email protected]
