25.9.2025
About 20m Nigerian females have suffered Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), despite federal laws against the practice.
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Lagos Field Office director, Celine Lafoucriere, FGM is a harmful practice that poses health risks to girls and women.
According to UNICEF, Nigeria ranks third globally in FGM prevalence. The organization emphasized that the procedure has no health benefits but exposes victims to grave dangers, calling for stronger community mobilization and stakeholder engagement to curb the trend.
Lafoucriere said, “The need to end FGM is urgent and achievable. Nearly 20 million women and girls in Nigeria have undergone FGM.
“It’s the third highest globally. Most of them were cut before their fifth birthday, when they are completely powerless, when they can’t consent, reject or understand what is happening. Despite being outlawed in Nigeria, the practice continues in many states. It continues by myth and tradition.
“FGM has no health benefit. It will not stop promiscuity. It would deny a lady the full benefit of her body. It can lead to medical complications. If the cutting is not properly done, it would affect urine, which is dangerous. It is a gender-based violence. Many communities are into it. If we continue to mobilise people, there would be more reduction”, she said.
FGM...a child facing the brutal mutilation of her genital