The Law And Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) In Nigeria: SIRP Bares All!
SIRP is an
acronym for Society for the Improvement of Rural People (SIRP), an NGO based in
Nigeria that is pragmatically committed to ending FGM in Nigeria.
It was set up in
response to the urgent need for philanthropic support to address the various
issues confronting vulnerable persons (women, children, disabled persons and
youth) especially in rural areas of the country.
Since inception,
the organization has been adequately supporting vulnerable people in rural
areas of Nigeria, through poverty alleviation and rights advocacy.
SIRP is one of
the sterling organizations that have thrown their weight behind efforts to
eradicate the potentially deadly practice of FGM in Nigeria.
In this article,
SIRP writes on the height and low of the fight against FGM.
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| Dr. Chris N. Ugwu SIRP's Executive Director |
INTRODUCTION:
Did
you know that currently in Nigeria, 20 million women and girls have been
mutilated and yet, there has been no conviction – not even one?
Though
there are many reasons for this failure of the Law to checkmate FGM, this article
would highlight the two major reasons for this in Nigeria.
This
article also deals on the following grey hair areas of the fight:
- FGM statistic in Nigeria and some of the causes of FGM in Nigeria.
- The various Legislations against FGM in Nigeria.
- The major factors limiting the effectiveness of these Laws in Nigeria.
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THE FGM STATISTIC IN NIGERIA
Globally, 200 million women and girls
have been mutilated. In Nigeria alone, 20 million women and girls have been
mutilated and this figure represents 10% of the global total.
What this figure means in essence is
that 1 out of every 10 mutilated girl or woman in the world is a Nigerian!
In Nigeria, the geographical zones with
the highest FGM prevalence rate are the South-West and the South-East!
SOME CAUSES OF FGM IN NIGERIA
There are so many reasons FGM is
practiced in Nigeria – it ranges from cultural reasons to it being ‘seemingly’ used
to curb illicit sexual appetites of women and girls in the country.
However, SIRP would streamline these
reasons to Enugu State only since it is the organization’s operational base
wherein we have a firsthand knowledge of FGM.
Thus, in Enugu State, FGM is normally
done due to the patriarchal system, which is obtainable in most communities in
the State. This patriarchal system ensures male dominance over women. It is
seen as a way in which the male folks subject and impose themselves on women.
Another reason is that, FGM is also
often considered a religious/cultural obligation e.g. rite of passage into
adulthood, Female Genital Cutting as part of Naming ceremony etc.
In most communities in Enugu State, FGM
is usually carried out on the eighth day after birth, to coincide with the
child’s naming ceremony, which is a festive event with gifts and refreshments.
The naming and cutting are linked. SIRP has also found out that poor mothers
could not openly resist their girls undergoing FGM because it would also mean
that there is no naming ceremony.
Sadly, all these have helped this
practice to thrive in Enugu State.
LEGISLATIONS
PROHIBITING FGM IN NIGERIA
Before the passing into law of the
Violence Against Person Prohibition (VAPP) Act in Nigeria. Most lawyers, NGOs
and anti-FGM campaigners in Nigeria were relying on the Nigerian Constitution
and on the Child Rights Act (CRA) to speak against FGM in Nigeria.
But one sad thing about the two
foregoing laws is that it does not explicitly mention FGM as a criminal
offence.
N.B:
It
must also be noted at this juncture that currently, 13 States in Nigeria have
their own State Laws expressly prohibiting FGM. These States includes: Lagos,
Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, Bayelsa, Ogun, Delta, Ebonyi, Oyo, Imo, Edo, Cross-River and
Rivers State.
Now let’s look at some of the provisions
in the Constitution and in The Child Rights Act as it relates to FGM though not
explicitly:
1. The Constitution:
The 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (CFRN), which is the
supreme law of the land provides in Section
34 that:
“no
person shall be subjected to any form of torture, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment”.
FGM
indeed falls under the foregoing categories and thus can be punishable under
this section.
2. The Child Rights Act:
The Child Rights Act (CRA), which was passed in 2003 in Nigeria also has some
provisions that outlaws this practice:
Section 11(B)
of this Act provides also that “no child shall be subjected to any form of
torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”.
However,
it must be noted that this Act is only applicable in only 23 States plus the
Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja.
One
particular thing you will note from the two foregoing provisions is that there
is no mention of FGM. It was because of this fact that most lawyers, NGOs and
anti-FGM campaigners in Nigeria rallied round and started to advocate for a Law,
which will specifically mention FGM as a criminal offence.
It was
as a result of this push that in 2015, under the Goodluck Jonathan’s
administration, that the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act (VAPP) Act
was passed into Law.
This
particular Act specifically mentioned FGM as a criminal act. It also made FGM
and other forms of gender-based violence like rape, spousal battery, forceful
ejection from home, harmful widowhood practices etc punishable offences in
Nigeria.
Apart
from this, the VAPP Act also made provisions for the maximum protection of
victims and also, for the effective remedies for victims.
Section 6 of the VAPP Act provides for
a set of punishments for FGM. Some of these punishments include:
I.
Anybody who performs or engages another
to perform FGM on any person is liable to a term of imprisonment not exceeding
4 years or to a fine not exceeding N200,000 or to both.
II.
Anybody who attempts, aids, abets, or
incites another to carry out FGM is liable to a term not exceeding 2 years
imprisonment or to a fine not exceeding N100, 000 or to both.
THE LIMITATIONS OF THE VAPP
ACT
Three
years after the passing into law of the VAPP Act, it is indeed disheartening to
note that there has not been a single FGM conviction in Nigeria. The question
that keeps agitating our mind is why is this so?
In
answering this question, we will like to categorize our answer into two major
reasons.
1. The applicability of the VAPP Act:
Currently, the VAPP Act is only applicable in Abuja and in Anambra State. What
this literally means is that it is only applicable in 1 State out of the 36
States in Nigeria. The reason for this is that only Anambra State has
domesticated this Act. Under the National system, a Federal Law cannot apply in
a particular State unless and until it is domesticated in that particular
State.
This
lack of domestication of the VAPP Act by several States in Nigeria then brings
us to a recent issue, which happened in Kwara State, Nigeria.
This
issue made global headlines. Just recently in Kwara State, a facebook user from
Kwara State called “Alhaji Adebayo” publicly advertised for a free cutting of
girls in Kwara State.
This
case, we heard, was duly reported to the police but up till now, he has not
been arrested. One major reason we think that he has not yet been arrested and
duly prosecuted is because of the fact that Kwara State presently has not taken
steps to domesticate this Act.
2. Little or no awareness of this Act
in Nigeria: Another major reason limiting the effectiveness of
this VAPP Act is the fact that many Nigerians do not know about this Act.
Currently
in Nigeria, it is estimated that 1 out of every 100 Nigerians know about the
existence of this Law in Nigeria. It is also estimated that only 10 out of
every 200 Nigerians really know what this Act says or means.
To
further buttress this point, we recently conducted a research in Nsukka Local
Government Area (LGA) of Enugu State, which is one of the 17 Local Government
Areas in Enugu State, Nigeria.
The
purpose of this study was to determine the level of awareness among Enugu
citizens about the VAPP Act 2015. In this particular study, we adopted a
descriptive research design. Specifically, 3 research questions were posed to
guide the study. A multi-staged sampling procedure using simple random sampling
technique of balloting without replacement was used. We selected a sample of
210 women accessing various health services in the 35 public primary health
facilities in Nsukka.
The
instrument for data collection was our self-developed questionnaires. The data
collected were analyzed using figures and percentages to answer the research
questions. Below are some of the questions we asked them and some of the
answers we got from them:
Question 1:
Have you ever heard of the VAPP Act?
Yes
|
%
|
No
|
%
|
10
|
4.76
|
200
|
95.2
|
After we explained the
meaning of this Act to them we then asked them;
Question 2: Do you think that this Law should be
domesticated in Enugu State?
Yes
|
%
|
No
|
%
|
190
|
90.47
|
20
|
9.52
|
From the
foregoing, one can see that only 10 women out of the 210 women we gave out
these questionnaires to, have heard about the VAPP Act. Also 190 women out of
the 210 women, we gave out these questionnaires wanted this Act to be
domesticated in Enugu. Those that were against its domestication said that FGM
is part of their culture and also that it helps to curb promiscuity among women
and as such they are against its domestication in Enugu.
CONCLUSION
In
conclusion, we would really love to state that the onus now falls on the
various State Governments in Nigeria, Donor Agencies, NGOs and also on anti-FGM
campaigners in various States in Nigeria to push for both the domestication of
this Act in their various States and to also raise public awareness of the
existence of this Act in their various States.
Also,
current advocacies by NGOs and anti-FGM campaigners against FGM in Nigeria
should now be centered more on pushing for the domestication of this Act and
also in creating more awareness of the existence of the VAPP Act in their
various States. We seriously believe, that if we are able to achieve the
foregoing it will go a long way in ending FGM in Nigeria by 2030.
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