ABUJA- Nollywood Actress Kate Henshaw has called for an end to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) practice, and urged perpetrators to stop the act.
Henshaw, a United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) champion, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Saturday.
NAN reports that FGM is recognised internationally as right violation against girls and women.
It involves altering or injuring the female genitalia for non-medical reasons.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) indicated that about 230 million girls and women had undergone some form of FGM globally as at 2023, with about 68 million girls at risk of experiencing same between 2015 and 2030.
It noted that Nigeria has the third highest burden of FGM and accounts for about one-tenth of the 230 million women and girls FGM survivors globally, placing the country the highest with FGM burden in Africa.
The organisation also said there is a worrying trend that more girls in Nigeria and in many parts of Africa, are subjected to the practice at younger ages, many before their fifth birthday.
Strongly condemning the practice, therefore, Henshaw said “the act is not supported by science and has no medical or moral value attached to it.”
She urged women who carry out the practice on others to desist from doing so and also become vanguards against it to protect the womenfolk.
She explained that “the same women that carry it out are the same women that are going to end it.
“Times have changed, we are in the 21st century, we cannot be talking about practices that harm, but should be talking about things that will add value to the female child.”
The Nollywood actress said it is important to keep talking about the issue so that members of the society would know how far champions who have been campaigning against the act have gone.
According to her, efforts have been made by various individuals and bodies to ensure that FGM is totally eradicated in Nigeria.
She advocated more actions, especially at the home front, saying “we need to talk to our gender, women, because we are at the forefront of this harmful practices.
“Women are the gatekeepers to some of the harmful practices, we have some for widowhood too, even domestic violence, child abuse is sometimes perpetrated by women.
“So, we need to be more empathetic, give ourselves a chance, give young girls a chance to grow, to have a life because there’s nothing to be gained from FGM.
“We should always sound the alarm on anything that is harmful to another human being,” she added. (NAN)
