The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has called for the protection of girls in Nigeria and an end to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), a practice that infringes on the rights of girls and interferes with their reproductive wellbeing.

The call to end FGM in the country became pertinent as Nigeria joins the rest of the world to mark 2025 International Day of the Girl Child, with the theme: “The Girl I am, the Change I lead”.

Celine Lafoucriere, Chief of UNICEF Lagos Field Office, made the call at a two-day Media Dialogue in support of advocacy to end Female Genital Mutilation in Nigeria.

The dialogue was organized by Oyo State Ministry of Information and Orientation in collaboration with UNICEF, to call attention to the need to protect the girl child from the harmful effects of Female Genital Mutilation and other such cultural practices.

According to Lafoucriere, over 20 million women and girls in Nigeria are affected by Female Genital Mutilation, most of whom were cut when they had no voice or opinion and when they were oblivious of the consequences of such actions on them.

She noted that, “Most of them were cut before their fifth birthday, when they couldn’t consent, resist or even understand what was happening.”

Lafoucriere stated that FGM is a human rights challenge and a violation of the rights of girls which must be eradicated, stressing that the rights of the girls matter more than the tradition the harmful practice sustains.

She explained that available statistics rank Nigeria among the most FGM endemic countries globally, a situation which calls for urgent stakeholders’ intervention.

“This is a huge number that we cannot be blind or deaf to,” the UNICEF Chief said.

Lafoucriere stressed that in spite of national and state legislations outlawing the practice, FGM still persists in communities across the country.

She noted that the practice is fueled by myths and traditions that must be recognised as harmful, adding that no culture or custom should ever come at the expense of girls’ health, rights or future.

She called for collaborative action to tackle the myths driving FGM in Nigeria so as to end the practice and give women in the country a new lease of life

“The good news is that change can happen through collaboration like the movement and initiative led by the federal government in collaboration with UNICEF.

“Millions of Nigerian people have already pledged to protect girls from being cut. Survivors are leading the way and young people are demanding for a better future,” Lafoucriere stated.

The UNICEF Chief also urged the media to amplify the voices of survivors as a recurring strategy to raise awareness and spark conversations in the grassroots where the practice is still prevalent.

Dennis Onoise, Child Protection Specialist, UNICEF Lagos Office, in his presentation, said FGM hurts and imposes lifelong health risks on girls, putting them through avoidable physical and psychological trauma.

According to Onoise, the health risks arising from FGM include intense pain, excessive bleeding, urinary incontinence or inability to urinate, infections, clitoral neuroma as well as difficulty during intercourse or childbirth among others.

He noted that, “Despite its cultural importance, Female Genital Mutilation has potential short and long term medical complications just as it harms the reproductive health and infringes on women’s rights.”

The Child Protection Specialist who identified complications arising from FGM as symptomatic of the harmful nature of the practice, noted that they can be avoided when the practice is totally eradicated.

He added that preventing FGM brings benefits not only to the girls but also to their immediate families and communities as a whole.

Aderonke Olutayo, an FGM Consultant, on her part, decried the low awareness level of the law against FGM and the rights of women and girls in Nigeria, saying it increases the chances of violence against them.

She stressed that such gaps in knowledge of the law as well as untamed proliferation of unsustainable myths and misconceptions fuel the practice of FGM in most communities.

Olutayo called for the inclusion of boys and men in the advocacy against Female Genital Mutilation, since boys grow up to be men who are key decision makers in their families.

Also speaking on the role of the media, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information and Orientation in Oyo State, Rotimi Babalola, emphasized the need for professionals to continue to raise awareness about FGM and educate the grassroots.

He said, “Let me commend you for what you have been doing, but I will urge you to do more for this worthy cause so we can effectively end Female Genital Mutilation in the southwest states and Edo state including all the other states covered by UNICEF.”

He urged journalists to be sensitive in their reportage of FGM stories to avoid re-traumatizing survivors by making them relive the unpleasant experience all over again.

“Remember that our aim is to raise awareness and to protect our women and girls; not to objectify and re-traumatize them,”  he said.

The two-day Media Dialogue was held in Benin City, Edo state, to look for more effective strategies to end Female Genital Mutilation in Nigeria, particularly in Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, Lagos and Edo states.