Peer-reviewed article
Female Genital Mutilation in Northeastern Nigeria
Mary Olubisi Amodu, Mohammed Tahiru Bolori, A. Kuchichi, Ibrahim Musa Ngoshe, Fatima Lawan Bukar ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined women's knowledge and attitudes towards female genital mutilation (FGM) in northeastern Nigeria. Most respondents were aware of FGM and recognized it as a harmful practice, though awareness levels were lower than in southern Nigeria. The researchers concluded that FGM has significant negative health and social impacts. The study recommends increased government-led health education through communities and schools to inform parents about the harms of FGM.
Key points
- Most respondents in northeastern Nigeria were aware of FGM but awareness was lower than in southern regions
- The majority of respondents knew the meaning of FGM and identified it as a harmful practice
- FGM was recognized as being practiced for various cultural reasons
- FGM causes health problems during the procedure, shortly after, and later in life
- Government health education campaigns targeting parents through communities and schools are recommended
Limitations
This is a descriptive cross-sectional study that only measures knowledge and attitudes; it does not evaluate the effectiveness of any intervention to reduce FGM prevalence or measure actual practice rates. The document provides limited detail on sample size, methodology, or comparative analysis with other regions.
Abstract
Introduction: Different forms of cultural practices are being practiced in Nigeria and other parts of the world.Some of such are beneficial while others lead to negative impacts.Female genital mutilation as one type of harmful traditional practices is a form of violence against women.Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), practiced in many parts of the world, also known as female circumcision or female genital cutting (FGC), is the practice in which a female child undergoes a process involving the female external genital organ being removed partially or totally for nonmedical reasons, causing a lot of health and other problems during, shortly after the procedure and later in life.Objective: The objective of the study was to understand knowledge and thoughts of women towards female genital mutilation.Method: A cross sectional descriptive study.Results: Most of the respondents were aware of FGM but not as high as in the southern part of Nigeria.The majority knew the meaning of FGM and thought it as a harmful practice done for various reasons.Conclusion: FGM has negative impacts.It is highly recommended for government to enlighten parents more about menace of FGM through community and school health education.