Medical Expert Cautions Against Female Genital Mutilation

A health expert, Dr Okechukwu Ossai, has cautioned Nigerians against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) practice because of its health implications.
Ossai gave the warning in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu on Wednesday.
He said that FGM was one of the most serious forms of violence against the girl-child and woman.
He said that the practice exposed girls to diseases through various mechanisms.
“This practice apparently has created a pathway for infectious diseases to thrive in the female genitalia as well as other parts of the body, thereby resulting in a serious health complications.
“Female genital mutilation also called female circumcision or female genital cutting is a fundamental violation of the womanhood.
“It accounts for the highest percentage of the female right abuse all over the globe.
“It does irreparable harm to the female reproductive organ and health as a whole which can result in death through severe bleeding, pain and trauma as well as overwhelming infections,” he said.
Ossai said that the Enugu State Ministries of Health and Gender Affairs were working seriously to make sure that female circumcision was no longer practised in any part of the state.
According to him, the practice of FGM is an offence and anyone found carrying out the act in the state will be arrested and prosecuted.