Wife of the Oyo State Governor, Mrs Florence Ajimobi has called for proper enforcement of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act 2015.
Mrs Ajimobi made this call while addressing women on the urgent need to totally eradicate Female Genital Mutilation, FGM, in the state in commemoration of International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation.
The wife of the Governor noted that with the passage of the bill on violence against persons into law which contains the provision for prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation, the onus is on everyone to ensure that the harmful practice is totally stopped.
Mrs Ajimobi, while stating the effects of the traditional practice, explained that victims of FGM suffer a great deal socially, psychologically, physically and emotionally as well as sexually.
To this end, she urged all to ensure that the menace of FGM, which is one of the key elements of the fifth United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, is never again mentioned in the Nigerian society.
She also called for continuous education and adequate information dissemination on the dangers inherent in the practice and the sanctions available to those who refuse to desist from it.
“We must speak and make our voices heard, that we no longer want our women to suffer in the hands of traditional surgeons with their scalpel of death.
“We must stop propagating the deadly gospel and join hands together to see to it that we fight this battle till we reach zero level,” she said.
