….trains 50 lawyers in Ekiti
The New Generation Girls And Women Development Initiative (NIGAWD) with support from United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has continued to intensify its stakeholders engagement towards the eradication of Female Genital Mutilation in Ekiti State.
To this end, the organization organized a 3 days training for 50 lawyers drawn from NBA, FIDA, Ministry of Justice and Law students held in Ado-ekiti.
The workshop was put up to inform the lawyers with the short and long term dangers inherent in the practice of FGM so as to enable them handle issues related to the practice with utmost seriousness.
During the exercise, resource persons highlighted the origin of FGM and the various dangers attached which was also backed up with pictures and videos of some victims.
Speaking with newsmen, FGM Analyst, Uzoma Ayodeji said it was worrisome that FGM is still prevalent in Ekiti, hence the need to engage the lawyers in the fight in view of their strategic roles in the implementation of laws.
She said:”We are training the lawyers to understand what it means to go through FGM and when cases come to them they should take it very serious.
“Training them on this is making sure that they are aware of the long and short term consequences of FGM.
In a remark, The New Generation Girls and Women Development Initiative (NIGAWD Abimbola Aladejare-Salako said it was worrisome that no single person has been prosecuted on FGM in the state, hence the need to seek support of lawyers.
She said:We have been in the for front campaign and intervention to ensure that the practice of Female Genital Mutilation becomes a thing of past in our society.
“In Ekiti State southwest Nigeria and Africa we realize that we have done so much in community engagement ,we have done so much with boys and girls with traditional circumcisers,we have done so much with medical doctors and we realized that to a large extent, we are not doing enough in area of implementing the law.
“For example, Ekiti State Gender Base Violence and prohibition law, prohibits Female Genital Mutilation but despite the law, Ekiti State is still a state with the highest prevalence of FGM in the southwest and second in Nigeria.
“It means that despite the fact that we have a law, we are not implementing the law.
Some of the participants who spoke described the workshop as an eye opener and promised to make good use of the knowledge gained and support the fight against FGM.1