The first conversation we had amid the 16 days of activism was with Lois Aderemose, she is a mental health and gender-based advocate with a focus on advocating against Female Genital Mutilation which is a global threat to women and girls.
She revealed that there are around 200 million women globally who have had their genitals mutilated and 10% of these women and girls are in Nigeria. It was a revealing session indeed. As most people involved in this act do not know how dangerous the act of FGM is. Aside from the fact that women who have been mutilated do not enjoy sexual pleasure anymore, many encounter horrible and life-long infections because of the poor hygienic process used in the act. FGM has been stated as one of the major causes of miscarriages among young women within the childbearing age
The risks of FGM are numerous and frightful. Former President of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan signed a bill to end Female Genital Mutilation in Nigeria as it was declared an illegal act but the practice continues in some parts of Nigeria.
Lois expounded experiences on where she went to the field to raise advocacy and also stated the manner used by herself and her team to drive their message to the survivors and perpetrators of this gruesome act.
At the end of the live session, we knew that a lot more work needs to be done and that much will be achieved if we can together unite to put an end to this menace.
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