“In Nigeria 20 million women and girls have either been mutilated or cut”. The foregoing was an introductory sentence from one of the articles published on the Punch Newspaper in 2015 here in Nigeria. This did not make too much sense to me and I didn’t bother reading this article further. This is because; I was simply not interested in this topic. So I flipped over to the next page, which had information on sports and entertainment. Fast forward to 2020 and I am now a globally acclaimed end Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) activist. What really happened and how did I have a paradigm shift? In this essay, I will be sharing that one experience, which made me to have this paradigm shift. I will also be sharing my work so far and the impact this work has had in my life and that of others.
After my graduation from Law School in late 2016, I needed a job so desperately. So I started looking out for some organizations, which would want my skill-set. I always knew that I didn’t want to work in a Law chamber. This is because; I have always seen myself more as a social worker. So I applied to various Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) here in Nigeria. To my greatest surprise none was willing to take me in as they were no spaces in their organizations. So, I was advised by a friend to apply as a volunteer as this would help me to gain access into these organizations. Also, that if I impress them that I will be retained by them and made a full-time staff member. This I did and in early 2017, I was accepted as a volunteer with an organization called Society for the Improvement of Rural People (SIRP). SIRP is an NGO based in Enugu State, Nigeria that is committed to addressing the various challenges affecting vulnerable groups in Nigeria. I was given the responsibility of carrying out various research works for them. Currently, I serve as the Gender Head at SIRP.
In late 2017, we got a grant from The Girl Generation (TGG). TGG was an organization based in the United Kingdom. I say was because this organization has since folded up. This project was aimed at ending the practice of FGM/C in 5 communities in Enugu State, Nigeria. These communities included: Awgu, Akwuke, Oduma, Okpanku and Mpu. This project was one, which made me to have a paradigm shift with regards to FGM/C issues. It was in early 2018 at Akwuke that I had this paradigm shift. In one of our community engagements at Akwuke a FGM/C survivour named Cordelia Udeh from Akwuke stood up and shared her emotional story with everyone. She told everyone how FGM/C ruined her life. She told us that in her community, girls were mostly mutilated between the ages of 1-5. This was done because of the misconception, which is prevalent at the community. This misconception is that FGM/C curbs the girl child promiscuity. After the girl child is mutilated, she is then deemed pure and chaste to be given out in marriage. This is because; FGM/C in Akwuke serves as a precursor to the girl child early marriage. This invariably affects both women and girls education and economic empowerment at Akwuke. She stated furthermore, that in her own case, she was mutilated when she was just 4. After she was mutilated, she was betrothed to a man thrice her age, who she then finally married at the age 12. This invariably affected both her education and chances of being gainfully employed. This was because; she dropped out of school to cater for her children and family. She became a care-giver at such an early age.
The foregoing story struck me and made me to research more about FGM/C. It was only after researching more about this issue that I became more convinced about advocating for an end to FGM/C both in Nigeria and also globally. I also read the stories of various other FGM/C survivours like Hibo Wardere from Somalia and Sadia Hussein from Kenya and this further reinforced this conviction. My activism since 2017 has led to an end to FGM/C in more than 15 communities so far in Nigeria. One key approach, which I use, is the UNICEF 6 elements for FGM/C abandonment. This is an approach, which allows communities to make the decision to end FGM/C themselves. I also use my blog and social media platforms to advocate for an end to FGM/C globally. This my activism has not gone unnoticed. I have won so many Awards, gained so many global recognitions because of this. My happiness in all this is that through my work a girl is saved from being another FGM/C statistic.
In conclusion, it’s indeed funny how a person can experience a paradigm shift in life. It basically takes just one experience for someone to have his or her paradigm shifted. In my own case, it just took an emotional story told by a survivor to have this shift. This paradigm shift has gone on to transform not just my life, but also the lives of others around me. Today I am happy to be associated with the end FGM/C movement.