Mrs Bridget Omobude, 56, a former Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) practitioner who cut girls for more than three decades, admitted to mutilating even her daughter, a decision that fractured their relationship.
For Omogbode, reneging on female genital mutilation, a trade she learnt and had been involved with from age 11, was because of her daughter, who had relocated abroad.
Her daughter called to confirm whether she was genitally mutilated as a baby. Her mother’s affirmation led to her daughter stopping talking or receiving her calls.
Although Mrs Omobude tried all she could, to date, her daughter had stopped talking to or receiving her calls.
Mrs Omobude, now an advocate for FGM, believes that maybe when her daughter reads about her apology, she might be forgiven.
Omobude said, “When I joined this programme, I was happy to be with the children. My family has always cared for children; it’s a tradition passed down from my great-grandmother to my mother and now to us. When they brought the children for the service, we held them so we could learn how to care for them properly.
“I have surrendered my knife as a cutter, though I used to carry out the procedure on only family members. But with the experience I am having with my daughter now, I recommend other cutters stop this hazardous act.”
Mrs Sakirat Makinde (not her real name) is a survivor of FGM and a mother of five girls and a boy. Three of her female children had already been cut (circumcised).
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“I am a mother of six: a boy and five girls. Among those five girls, three are circumcised. The reason why the remaining two were not circumcised is that when I gave birth to my number five girl, there was no money to circumcise her,” recounted Mrs Makinde.
She added, “So when I gave birth to the last one, I was now planning to circumcise the two of them together. So when I heard that the money they told me was big, I went back home hoping that maybe later I would go back to circumcise them, but I didn’t go back.
“Till the beginning of this year, 2025, I was still planning to go for those two because they said when they’re not circumcised, they would not stay with one husband due to promiscuity myths and beliefs.
“This was about 12 years and nine years ago, as the children are now between 12 and nine years old. At that time, I was asked to pay N12,000 each for the two of them. It was while I was still planning how to circumcise them that a female chemist introduced the FGM programme to me, which I attended,” she said.
Another FGM survivor, Hannah (not her real name), said the painful experience has left her struggling to enjoy sexual intimacy with her partner.
The 38-year-old lady from the indigenous Igbo tribe in Enugu State said that she was cut without her consent on the orders of family members.
Hannah described FGM as barbaric and unnecessary, urging those involved in the practice to stop, saying the trauma still lingers, making her feel less feminine.
Meanwhile, Hannah, who was a victim of this act, joined the practice at age 25 and operated on girls, too. She told how girls were subjected to the surgery with no anaesthetic and bled severely.
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She noted that the cutting comes with physical complications, severe pain, excessive bleeding, infections, urinary issues, menstrual problems, emotional trauma, and psychological effects, including anxiety, depression, and sexual dysfunction.
Another survivor of FGM and secondary school teacher, Doris Akare, in Edo State, was mutilated at 8 days old. This made her spend an extra three months at Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LUTH.
“FGM is a no-no for me. Every mythical belief about the promiscuity of women is not good.”
She blames some elders for sticking to this traditional practice and harassing individuals who refuse to comply with their beliefs and values.
At a two-day media dialogue in Benin, organised by the Oyo State Ministry of Information and Orientation in collaboration with UNICEF, these survivors and campaigners shared their pains and the devastating impact of FGM.
They are transforming their personal trauma into powerful advocacy, determined to end a practice that continues to scar millions of Nigerian women and girls.
The Chief of UNICEF, Lagos Field Office, Celine Lafoucriere, said at the media parley that nearly 20 million women and girls in Nigeria had undergone FGM, ranking third highest globally.
“This is a huge number that we cannot be blind or deaf to,” she said.
Lafoucriere said that despite being outlawed in Nigeria, FGM persists in numerous Nigerian communities, adding that the practice is fuelled by myths and traditions and should be acknowledged as detrimental.
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She emphasised that no cultural or traditional practice should compromise girls’ health, rights, or prospects.
In her remarks, Blessing Ejiofor, UNICEF Communication Officer at the Lagos Field Office, noted that while campaigns have led to a decline in FGM, the advocacy efforts aim for its complete elimination.
Ejiofor, who declared that no woman should undergo the harmful process of FGM, revealed that it was now a criminal offence in Nigeria to engage in it.
Moreover, the Child Protection Specialist, UNICEF Lagos Office, Dennis Onoise, said that the testimonies from the survivors and former practitioners are enough evidence that FGM is not only harmful but also dangerous to the lives and livelihoods of women.
“We need to reach out to community members and say we want to abandon this practice. We can no longer continue with this practice; we are not helping the people we cut in terms of reproductive health. It doesn’t help the woman to enjoy her body. It does not curb promiscuity, so its purpose is defeated,” Onoise declared.
(TRIBUNE)
