Survivors of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in the eight communities that made up Onicha local government area of Ebonyi state weekend, narrated their experiences as the council publicly denounced the practice.
The women noted how difficult it was for them while giving birth to their children.
The program which held at Isu the headquarters of Onicha LGA, was organized by the National Orientation Agency (NOA) with support from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
Speaking with Blueprint, Mrs Eunice Obasi from the same community who happened to be a survivor of FGM narrated, “that government is doing is for our own good because it will not benefit anybody to die but if a women gives birth freely to her baby we will jubilate with her family.
“Circumcised women pass through many pains when giving birth, the clitoris that was tampered with in the name of circumcision affects the woman, because that part of the woman’s body that is supposed to be elastic during delivery will become so tight and difficult for the baby to pass through, that will now make the nurses to give you a cut in other to give a passage for the baby to come out.
“I was circumcised and was given a cut while given birth to my first baby, it pained me so much that i will not wish that any of my children will experience the same thing. Honestly I thank UNICEF and state government for this thing they are doing for women and girls”.
Also, Mrs Blessing Ogbu from Amanato community noted that the LGA had stopped the practice before the public pronouncements. She said, “we have stopped female circumcision, before now it was seen as a sacrilege for a women not to be circumcised, but since we learnt of the disadvantages and stopped truly we see our women deliver their babies freely.
Since government have done so much to bring to an end this obnoxious practice , we will ensure that nobody will secretly do it again in our community”.
Similarly Chukwu Monica said, “this pronouncement today is a very good one, because when a woman that was not cut or circumcised is given birth the body will be elastic and open well for the baby to come out, but a circular.cised woman’s body finds it difficult, the woman’s body some time will close and it will lead to operation”.
On his part the chairman of the traditional rulers council in the area, HRH Eze Ambrose Ogbu stressed that they had stopped the practice in their communities before the public denouncement of the ugly practices.
“We have long stop female genital mutilation in our local government, we assembled all the traditional rulers and make a decree that no one would be allowed to practice such, we also announced of the punishment awaiting anyone caught practicing it. But today we are officially saying no to this practice.
We are promising that as we have stopped it before now, we will partner with you people very well to see that nobody practice it again”.
