Female Genital Mutilation
I was born in an era where Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)
was prevalent and some young women from Upper West and East region of Ghana
found it a privilege to participate in these rituals.
Growing up I read about the adverse effect of Female
Genital Mutilation (FGM) at my elementary stage and what government and NGOs
were doing to eradicate such practices. The knowledge I acquired then about FGM
practices was just for examination purpose; this knowledge was not impactful
psychologically and emotionally on me until I started asking questions about
what really is FGM.
After getting feedback from the series of questions I posed
and researching intensively into the matter I finally realized that FGM is a
whole lot more than I know and it has lasting physical and mental consequences
on victims and therefore needs to be discussed so that girls and women no
longer have to suffer in silence
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) as defined by
Wikipedia is the removal of some or all the external female
genitalia. The procedure carried out on girls ranging from childhood to puberty
stage. It involves cutting, piercing or sewing to close all or some part
of the genitals.
In the olden days, genital cutting was seen as an initiation rite for girls, to prepare them for their future and the whole community participated in a ceremonial way. The initiation done mostly by women on girls with the aim to control their sexual desires and to prevent promiscuity. The immediate consequences of these initiations include sudden shock, bleeding, difficulty in passing urine, infection among others on victims.
In 1994 the
Criminal Code (Amendment) Act inserted Article 69A to the COA 1960 to prohibit
‘female circumcision’ in Ghana after a series of lobbying from NGOs. In 2007
this was further amended to ‘female genital mutilation’ and penalties were
increased.
The Ministry of
Gender, Children and Social Protection; the Department of Social Development;
the Domestic Violence Unit of the Police; the Commission for Human Rights and
Administrative Justice; and the National Commission on Civic Education. The
Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection also provide governmental
support services to end FGM.
NGOs such as
UNICEF and Ghanaian Association for Women’s Welfare (GAWW) are also creating
awareness of the FGM adverse on women and also provide support for FMG victims.
The cross-border
activity of perpetrators of FGM is alarming, nowadays most Ghanaian parents
cross the borders to Togo and Burkina Faso to cut their children and bring them
back to Ghana to avoid being apprehended
Additionally,
the interference by politicians and community leaders to prevent persecution of
perpetrators makes it difficult to enforce the law
For FGM to be eradicated
completely the government has to take a holistic approach. If this approach is
to be used then it means the education on FGM should start from the home and in
the classrooms starting from nursery and kindergarten level and everything
should be discussed. Every child, male or female should be educated on their
rights in a practical or demonstrable way to help the children visualize it in
their mind.
Again for FGM to be eradicated it means that
the security agencies need to work on their credibility level such that when cases
are reported and they are acted on and victims are protected.
Chiefs and queen
mothers in rural areas should also be encouraged to hold evening fire
gatherings with youths of the town whether the practice is prevalence or not
and a governmental monetary scheme should be instituted to award regions, towns
and villages that performs well in delivering FGM awareness and report
perpetrators to the appropriate authorities.
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