The International Federation of Women Lawyers, FIDA has come out to once again condemn the practice of female genital mutilation in some part of the country. The group made this call during a sensitization program for rural community members in Rivers State as part of efforts to end all forms of violence against women and girls in the society.
TVC News Uche Okoro reports that the sensitization was organized to mark the United Nations International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation.
Women lawyers in Rivers State took the program to Abua-Odual Local Government Area because the practice is still very common in the area.
They intend to leave their hosts with the awareness of the dangers of genital mutilation, otherwise referred to as female circumcision and the legal frameworks prohibiting the act. It is believed that the Judiciary has a major role to play in ending female genital mutilation.
But Despite what FIDA says is the existence of laws prohibiting the act in Rivers State, no one has ever faced trial in court for allegedly breaking the said law.