Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) remains a serious human-rights and publichealth concern in Nigeria. Although the practice has been condemned by national and international institutions, and prohibited by law in many circumstances, it continues to occur in some communities in the shadows of public scrutiny.
FGM is not simply a traditional practice. It is an issue that affects the dignity, bodily autonomy, health and wellbeing of girls and women. Its continuation is often sustained by deeply rooted social and cultural expectations, including beliefs about morality, marriageability, family honour, sexual behaviour and acceptance within the community.
Nigeria carries a particularly significant burden because of its large population. Available empirical research has consistently demonstrated that millions of Nigerian women and girls have experienced some form of FGM. UNICEF has also highlighted concerns about the sustained prevalence of FGM among Nigerian girls and the need for stronger and more coordinated efforts to prevent the practice.
The persistence of FGM demonstrates that legislation alone cannot eliminate a practice that is deeply embedded in social expectations. Sustainable change requires education, community engagement, protection of vulnerable girls, support for survivors and the active involvement of traditional, religious and community leaders.
The Distress of a Silent FGM Experience
For many survivors, the consequences of FGM do not end with the procedure itself. Depending on the type of FGM and the circumstances in which it is performed, survivors may experience immediate pain and injury as well as longer-term physical, sexual, reproductive and psychological consequences.
The emotional dimension that is often difficult to express publicly changed the way people understood cultural expectations, family authority and the responsibility of a parent to protect the vulnerable children. Some memories remain painful to revisit.
Speaking about such experiences can reopen wounds that many survivors and families have tried to carry quietly for
years. Obviously, silence can also allow harmful practices to continue.
For survivors, speaking out is therefore not necessarily an act of confrontation. It can be an act of healing, education and prevention. The experience ultimately strengthened determination to speak publicly about FGM.
Rather than allowing painful experiences to remain private, survivors could seek to use advocacy and writing to educate others about the dangers associated with the practice, and to encourage parents and communities to protect girls from further FGM.
Breaking the Culture of Silence
One of the greatest obstacles to eliminating FGM is silence. Girls and women may be reluctant to speak because of shame, fear of rejection, family pressure or concern about the consequences of challenging long-established traditions.
Parents who oppose FGM may themselves face pressure from relatives, elders or members of their community. In some communities, compliance can be presented as a condition for social acceptance, while refusal may be portrayed as rejection of tradition or disrespect for elders.
This places families in an extremely difficult position. A parent may understand the potential harm associated with FGM but nevertheless fear the social consequences of refusing to conform to their traditional heritage. The answer is not designed to shame families. Instead, communities must be encouraged to understand that protecting children is not an attack on culture.
Cultural identity can be preserved without practices that cause injury or violate the bodily autonomy of the womenfolk.
Cultural Expectations and Interstate Connections
FGM in Nigeria cannot be understood solely by looking at individual states. Nigeria is a country of extensive migration, intermarriage and cultural interaction. Families frequently move between states while maintaining their ethnic, traditional and family connections.
This is particularly relevant when considering communities in southern Nigeria, including Edo and Lagos. Historical migration, intermarriage and longstanding cultural relationships have contributed to connections between communities across state boundaries.
Consequently, moving from one state to another does not necessarily mean that a person has escaped the cultural and family networks that may influence decisions concerning FGM.
This does not mean that FGM is practised in every community or by every family within these states. Rather, it illustrates why prevention efforts must recognise the mobility of families and the cross-border nature of cultural practices. Protecting girls therefore requires more than geographic separation. It requires changing the attitudes and expectations that allow FGM to continue.
Why FGM Persists Despite Legal Prohibition
Nigeria has taken important legislative steps against FGM, including the enactment of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act 2015. Nevertheless, the existence of legislation does not automatically eliminate a deeply established social practice for generations.
FGM may continue privately because of fear and limited awareness of legal protections, social pressure, inadequate reporting mechanisms and the willingness of some individuals to preserve the practice despite legal restrictions. There is therefore a gap between having laws on paper and ensuring the vulnerable are effectively protected in practice.
Law enforcement must be accompanied by accessible education and community-based prevention. Parents need to know where they can obtain help and girls at risk need safe avenues for protection. Traditional and religious leaders must be encouraged to become advocates for abandonment rather than preservation of harmful practices.
Challenging the Cultural Justifications for FGM
FGM is sometimes defended through beliefs that, it preserves virginity, discourages promiscuity, protects family honour, prepares girls for marriage or fulfils a traditional or religious obligation. These beliefs deserve to be addressed respectfully but firmly.
The World Health Organization recognises FGM as a harmful practice and identifies a range of possible physical and psychological consequences therefore, there is no proven health benefit to FGM.
The idea that cutting a girl’s genitalia is necessary to make her morally respectable or socially acceptable is particularly troubling because it places the burden of community expectations on a child’s body. Girls should not have to endure physical harm in order to demonstrate morality, respectability or belonging.
Likewise, traditional explanations involving spiritual protection or particular substances applied during the procedure should not be allowed to replace evidence-based understanding of health and safety. Traditional beliefs deserve cultural consideration, but they should never be used to justify avoidable injury to the female folks.
Survivors Must Have a Voice
Survivors of FGM should not be viewed only as victims. They are also witnesses, educators, advocates and agents of change in a more sincere manner.
Their experiences can help communities understand the human consequences of a practice that may otherwise be discussed only as a cultural tradition or statistical problem.
Every survivor has a story. Some can speak about their experiences; others cannot. Some have lived with physical consequences, while others carry psychological wounds that may not be visible. Some victims never have the opportunity to tell their stories. That is why the voices of survivors’ matter.
When survivors speak, society should listen with compassion rather than judgement. Their experiences should inform prevention strategies, education programmes and policies designed to protect future generations.
A Commitment to Advocacy
Individual experience with FGM transforms understanding of the issue. What began as a deeply painful personal experience became a motivation to educate others and contribute to the campaign against FGM.
Through advocacy writing and public education, attention could be drawn to the realities that can remain hidden behind cultural explanations. The message is simple; no child should have to suffer in order to satisfy a cultural expectation. Parents should be empowered to protect their daughters.
Communities should be encouraged to abandon harmful practices collectively rather than leaving individual families to confront social pressure alone. Traditional leaders, religious leaders, educators, health professionals, civil society organisations and government agencies all have important roles to play.
A Call to Action
The eradication of FGM in Nigeria requires sustained commitment. Governments must strengthen implementation of existing laws and ensure that protection mechanisms are accessible. Health professionals must be equipped to identify and support girls and women affected by FGM.
Schools and community organisations should provide age-appropriate education about bodily autonomy, health and human rights. Traditional and religious leaders should use their influence to challenge misconceptions and support the prevention of FGM.
Most importantly, families should be encouraged to understand that refusing FGM is not a rejection of culture. It is an affirmation of the right of every child to grow up free from preventable harm. The fight against FGM is ultimately a fight for dignity, safety and the future of our daughters.
Therefore, the lonely tears of girls and women subjected to FGM should not remain unheard but loud enough to change the existing narratives
