The Rivers State chapter of the International Federation of Female Lawyers has called for the abolition of Female Genital Mutilation especially in some communities in the Abua-Odual Local Government Area of the state.
FIDA State Chairperson, Adata Bio-Briggs, who spoke during the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation and sensitization campaign at Omokwa community in Abua-Odual, reiterated that female circumcision is against the law.
Bio-Briggs explained that such traditional harmful practice in “Omokwa community that is only done on pregnant women during childbirth is barbaric” and would have caused several maternal mortality in the area.
She urged chiefs and leaders of the communities in Abua-Odual to “stop female genital mutilation”, warning that anyone caught in the practice “stands the risk of a four-year jail term.
In his address, the Chairman of Omokwa Community Development, John Isreal, who spoke on behalf of the Paramount Ruler, Chief Fubara Edum, assured the readiness of the community to “partner with the state government to abolish female genital mutilation practice and other harmful practices” that are against the law.
Some inhabitants of the Omokwa community, who spoke at the event, emphasized the need to abolish female genital mutilation which they said has great implications on the women.
