INTERROGATING THE PERSISTENCE OF FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION IN ILORIN, KWARA STATE, 2000-2020

Abstract

Female genital mutilation is also known as female genital cutting and female circumcision which comprises all procedures involving a partial or total removal of the external female genitalia either for cultural or other non-therapeutic reasons. FGM is a sensitive topic and issue because it cuts across several cultures and needs to be addressed with great care, without affecting people’s feelings as it touches on other people’s cultures. The practice is, therefore, still deeply entrenched in the Nigerian society. Despite efforts to raise awareness of FGM’s medical complications through governmental and non-governmental organizations, the practice persists in some communities, and this makes one ponder on the factors that seem to preserve the practice. This paper using both primary and secondary sources of historical research methodology assesses the socio-cultural and religious factors that contributed to the continuous practice of female genital mutilation in Ilorin despite the international condemnation. In Nigeria, the South-south (77 percent) has the highest incidence of Female Genital Mutilation among adult women, followed by the South-east (68 percent), and the South-west (65 percent). However, it was only lightly practised in the North, surprisingly leaning toward a more extreme form. At the national level, 41 percent of adult women have had Female Genital Mutilation typically carried out by a traditional circumciser using a blade. There was a significant relationship between the persistence of the practice of FGM and social structures, cultural, and religious beliefs. The study shows that the continuous practice of female genital mutilation in Ilorin is not due to ignorance, but a longstanding tradition and religious belief.