SIRP to the RESCUE!

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.

1.0              Background information about Society for the Improvement of Rural People

SIRP is an NGO founded in 1988 but officially registered with Nigeria’s Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) in 1999. Its registration number is 371,555. The organization aims to support vulnerable people in rural areas of Nigeria through poverty alleviation and rights advocacy, with a key focus on sensitization programmes to end Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in the communities where it is still practised.  It has worked on the Targeted Education, Communication and FGM Training Programme in the South-Eastern states of Enugu and Ebonyi (with funding from RAINBO UK).  This has involved advocacy and sensitization visits to five communities, the use of discussion groups, radio programmes and poster campaigns, and the distribution of information and education materials, which was followed up with evaluation to understand what impact the work has had.  Following on from the success of this project, SIRP hopes to extend its work into other communities in the South-East of Nigeria and this has informed this request for funding support.

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 found that poor mothers could not openly resist their girls undergoing FGM because it would also mean there would be no naming celebration.

SIRP last year with support from The Girl Generation (TGG), a Donor Agency based in Kenya introduced the sponsorship of naming ceremonies for children whose mothers showed a commitment not to cut their infant daughters.  These women went on to become SIRP’s FGM Abolition Champions and Peer Educators in their communities, working hard and often facing social persecution.

‘It is the resilience and ownership of the campaign by these women which has contributed to the sustainability of our work to end FGM’.

2.0              Title of the proposed project

Using mobile technology to reducing the Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) Prevalence rate in Enugu State, Nigeria

3.0              Goal of the project

An Enugu State of Nigeria in which FGM is ended and the human, health and sexual rights of the girl child respected and protected.

4.0              Project context

Most FGM interventions in Nigeria has in the past and also presently centered around the use of various traditional methods i.e. training workshops, seminars, dialogue sessions and awareness campaigns. Nobody has ever thought about using mobile technology as a means to ending FGM in Nigeria. This is rather unfortunate because of the fact that mobile technology is widely used in Nigeria. To further buttress this fact, Nigeria currently has a mobile phone penetration rate of 81% and also an internet penetration rate of 53%. Just last year, the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) through a report from the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) disclosed that active telecommunication subscribers in Nigeria was put at 149,249,510 and out of this figure 92,424,736 were active internet subscribers; this simply means that such subscribers had phones which are connected to the internet.

Also, from this report, we discovered that in Enugu State there are 3,096,071 subscribers and out of this figure 1,873, 467 had internet enabled phones. The reason why we have decided to bring out this statistics is to show 2 things.

                                 I.            That mobile technology has indeed permeated into Nigeria and;

                              II.            That the use of mobile technology is a veritable tool we would employ in our effort to ending FGM in Enugu State.

5.0              Project problem

FGM is widely practiced in Nigeria, and along with its large population. Nigeria currently has the highest absolute number of cases of FGM in the world, accounting for an estimated 20 million women and girls who have been mutilated. This number represents 10% of the global total. Globally, it is estimated that 200 million women and girls have been mutilated.

FGM poses great physical and mental health risks for women and young girls. According to a World Health Organization (WHO) study, FGM can be likened to increased complications in child birth and maternal death. Other side effects include severe pain, hemorrhage, tetanus, infections, infertility, cysts, urinary incontinence, psychological and sexual problems.

In Nigeria, FGM has the highest prevalence in the South-west (77%) (among adult women), followed by the South East; where we are currently working (68%) and South South (65%) and then the North (55%). Nigeria has a population of about more than 180 million people with the women population forming 52%; and yet this sizeable proportion of Nigeria is on a daily basis subjected to horrendous violence against the women in the form of female genital mutilation.

In Enugu State, a random FGM prevalence assessment was carried out in the 174    communities of the State. It was found out from the assessment that the FGM prevalence rate in Enugu is 65%. It was also found out that FGM was so much prevalent in Akwuke, Awgu, Mpu, Odume and Okpanku communities of the State.

In Enugu State, FGM is normally done due to the patriarchal system which is obtainable in most communities in the State, which 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 eight 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. We have 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. All this has helped this practice to thrive in Enugu State.

6.0              Project approach

SIRP intends to set up a FGM support hotline. This hotline will be serviced by a call centre located in our office in Enugu the capital of Enugu State. The main features of this system shall include automatic call and distribution, call monitoring, call queuing, blacklists and call recording.

This initiative which will be the first of it’s kind in Nigeria will be staffed with qualified phone operators, coordinators most of whom will be professional psychologists and social workers trained to address cases relating to FGM. These staff members will also receive comprehensive training on a range of issues relating to FGM.

This hotline which for a start will only be operative in Enugu State will provide information on FGM guidance, advice and support for women and girls in various remote communities of Enugu State. Through this hotline, any woman whose girl child is to be mutilated or has a relative, friend or acquaintance in this situation can therefore call “2030” for our intervention. We chose this number because the entire World and not just Nigeria currently has a target of ending FGM by 2030.

In establishing this free toll-line, we will be liaising with various mobile companies, media groups and also with the Enugu State Government. Through this partnership we will be able to ensure the success of this project. Also, through this partnership we will also be able to raise awareness about this hotline and the types of support available at the call centre. We will also conduct community events and media campaigns on the television, radio, and on billboards all in a bid to raising awareness of this hotline.