Survivors of Female Genital Mutilation, FGM, are raising their voices, turning personal pain into advocacy to end the harmful practice that continues to affect millions of Nigerian women and girls.
At a two-day media dialogue in Benin, organized by the Ministry of Information and Orientation in collaboration with UNICEF, survivors shared deeply emotional stories.
One of them, Bridget Omogbode, a former FGM practitioner of more than three decades, confessed to cutting even her own daughter, a decision that has strained their relationship. Now 56, she campaigns against the practice, warning that it leaves not just physical scars, but psychological ones.
Another survivor, Blessing Ogo, described FGM as “traumatizing,” saying it destroyed her ability to enjoy intimacy. She insists parents who still subject their daughters to it should face arrest.
Doris Okotoh from Igueben, Edo State, learned only later in life that she had been cut as an eight-day-old baby. She now rejects the cultural myths around the practice, stressing that FGM does not prevent promiscuity, but instead robs women of their dignity.
A mother of six, identified only as Patience, wept as she recounted how her mutilation cost her a fulfilling marriage and how she regretted cutting three of her five daughters. She admitted she might have continued with the other two if not for financial strain.
Men are also joining the fight. Pastor Ken Izah of the Ark of Refuge Christain Center in Benin told participants that FGM has no basis in the Bible and called it “despicable.” He uses every platform available, including his pulpit, to speak against it.
Nigeria ranks third globally in FGM prevalence, after India and Bangladesh.
Recall that there has been warning that over 20 million women and girls remain at risk, and that the economic cost of FGM could rise by 50 percent before 2030 if urgent action is not taken.
