{"id":33834,"date":"2019-08-08T17:27:42","date_gmt":"2019-08-08T16:27:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/?p=33834"},"modified":"2019-08-26T13:57:47","modified_gmt":"2019-08-26T12:57:47","slug":"is-female-circumcision-still-trendy-in-our-communities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/is-female-circumcision-still-trendy-in-our-communities\/","title":{"rendered":"In-laws Declare Wife Wanted For Refusing To Circumcise Daughter"},"content":{"rendered":"

A mother’s\u00a0 attempt to prevent her daughter from being subjected to the outlawed tradition of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) has put her on the wanted list of her in-laws.<\/p>\n

Omolola\u00a0Simbi\u00a0Oke\u00a0\u00a0and her\u00a0three\u00a0children and are currently on the run in a bid\u00a0to save her daughter\u2019s life\u00a0owing\u00a0to\u00a0her\u00a0refusal\u00a0for\u00a0her\u00a0daughter\u00a0(Eniola)\u00a0to\u00a0be\u00a0circumcised\u00a0in\u00a0accordance\u00a0with\u00a0the\u00a0custom\u00a0and\u00a0tradition\u00a0of\u00a0her\u00a0husband’s\u00a0family.<\/p>\n

Seun Oke, Omolola’s husband (who is also on the run for fear of what his family might do to him for conspiring with his wife to runaway) told our reporter on phone that his wife and children are on the run\u00a0to avoid his first child and only daughter from being circumcised.<\/p>\n

He narrated how he\u00a0worshipped\u00a0the\u00a0deities when he was young\u00a0and\u00a0participated\u00a0in\u00a0the\u00a0rituals\u00a0until\u00a0he\u00a0became a Christian\u00a0and\u00a0moved\u00a0to\u00a0Lagos\u00a0for greener pastures and especially when he\u00a0realizes\u00a0that his\u00a0family\u00a0was\u00a0not\u00a0happy\u00a0with\u00a0his decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy family\u00a0didn’t\u00a0speak\u00a0much\u00a0to\u00a0me\u00a0until I got\u00a0married because I became a Christian. Meanwhile, I didn\u2019t bother to inform my wife about our deities because I assumed it doesn\u2019t really matter anymore and it was my wife that\u00a0brought my family and I close again.\u00a0My\u00a0father is a staunch Muslim and\u00a0the\u00a0chief\u00a0worshiper\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0Ajana\u00a0Oro\u00a0deity in\u00a0the\u00a0town\u00a0of\u00a0Idiroko\u00a0in\u00a0Ogun\u00a0Stateof\u00a0Ni<\/u>geria.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur problems started in 2016 when my father convinced me\u00a0to come with my family to visit him so\u00a0he can meet his\u00a0grandchildren, this I agreed to do not knowing he has other plans.\u00a0My father\u00a0called\u00a0my wife\u00a0and\u00a0I after the Christmas celebration\u00a0and\u00a0informed\u00a0us\u00a0that\u00a0as\u00a0a\u00a0family\u00a0tradition,\u00a0the\u00a0first\u00a0daughter\u00a0of\u00a0their\u00a0sons\u00a0must\u00a0be\u00a0circumcised\u00a0before\u00a0they\u00a0turned\u00a06\u00a0as\u00a0required\u00a0by\u00a0customs\u00a0from\u00a0time\u00a0immemorial\u00a0once\u00a0they are\u00a04years\u00a0of\u00a0old.\u00a0I didn\u2019t argue with my father and made a sign to my wife not to say anything. We waited another two days before going back to our base so that my father will not suspect that we are not going to allow our daughter to be deformed in anyway.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn\u00a0Sunday\u00a0March\u00a019,,\u00a0201\u00a07 to be precise, four members of\u00a0my\u00a0family\u00a0arrived\u00a0at\u00a0our\u00a0house\u00a0from\u00a0Idiroko\u00a0unannounced. They met my wife and children but my wife called to inform me of their presence and I rushed home. They lied that my father asked them to bring my wife and children to the village for the new yam festival. I informed them that I know their plan and will not allow my daughter anywhere near my village.<\/p>\n

“Before we knew what was happening, my uncle had grabbed our daughter and tried to run inside the bus they came with.\u00a0<\/strong>My wife and I started shouting and calling for neighbours and passersby to come to our aid.\u00a0 The quick intervention of people stopped my family especially my uncle and brother from taking away our daughter.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had to meet with my lawyer who assisted us by making my wife and children go into hiding. They are where my father and his tradition cannot get to. I know there is a law forbidding female circumcision but our lawmakers and security agents\u2019 needs to pay more attention and stop saying it is a family matter when victims like us run to them for protection. My wife and children are now on my family’s wanted list just because of this archaic tradition . I also don’t have a permanent address for now because I am on the run from my family too. The\u00a0worst of the situation is that we are giving the outside world the impression that such does not exist in Nigeria\u00a0anymore.”\u00a0Seun explained.<\/p>\n

As far back as 2002, there were talks by the Nigerian legislature to outlaw FGM and impose a two year jail term for offenders, although it allows for an option of a fine of 100 dollars or the imposition of both a fine and incarceration of six months.<\/p>

\r\n
Advertisement<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\r\n \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

The bill was actually unanimously passed by the House of Representatives in 2001 before it was sent to the Senate to pass the bill.<\/p>\n

Reports said the Senate was expected to conclude its deliberations on the bill in May of 2002 and then send it to the then President Olusegun Obasanjo for his assent. It is however unclear what happened and the bill was not passed as projected.<\/p>\n

Finally, after much delay, the Senate recently finally put words to action and passed the bill to\u00a0criminalize\u00a0FGM. The bill which is called ‘Violence against Persons (Prohibition)’ seeks to prohibit female circumcision or genital mutilation, forceful ejection from home and harmful widowhood practices.<\/p>\n

Sponsored by the then Leader of the Senate, Victor Ndoma-Egba, the bill was also intended to eliminate violence in private and public life and provide maximum protection and effective remedies for victims of violence, and punishment of offenders.<\/p>\n

The bill also prohibits forced isolation, depriving persons of their liberty, economic abuse, incest, separation from family and friends, substance attack and indecent exposure, among others.<\/p>\n

However, despite a law clearly stating the government’s position against the practice, lack of enforcement has been the bane of it.\u00a0 Also, the refusal to accept that the disadvantages and dangers posed by FGM is another problem.<\/p>\n

So, with the law\u00a0criminalizing\u00a0FGM and the laws passed by the legislature, is it that our community leaders and traditional rulers have decided to ignore the law and are still supporting female circumcision in a way?<\/p>\n

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) otherwise known as circumcision is an invasive and painful surgical procedure that is often performed without anaesthesia on the girl-child before puberty. It is an old traditional practice still being practiced in parts of Nigeria, making it one of the 27 countries in Africa where FGM is still being celebrated secretly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A mother’s\u00a0 attempt to prevent her daughter from being subjected to the outlawed tradition of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) has put her on the wanted list of her in-laws. Omolola\u00a0Simbi\u00a0Oke\u00a0\u00a0and her\u00a0three\u00a0children and are currently on the run in a bid\u00a0to save her daughter\u2019s life\u00a0owing\u00a0to\u00a0her\u00a0refusal\u00a0for\u00a0her\u00a0daughter\u00a0(Eniola)\u00a0to\u00a0be\u00a0circumcised\u00a0in\u00a0accordance\u00a0with\u00a0the\u00a0custom\u00a0and\u00a0tradition\u00a0of\u00a0her\u00a0husband’s\u00a0family. Seun Oke, Omolola’s husband (who is also on the run for …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":33835,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[174,17],"tags":[2132],"coauthors":[2394],"class_list":["post-33834","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-health","category-news","tag-fgm"],"yoast_head":"\nIn-laws Declare Wife Wanted For Refusing To Circumcise Daughter - National Wire<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A mother's\u00a0attempt to prevent her daughter from being subjected to the outlawed tradition of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) has put her on the\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/is-female-circumcision-still-trendy-in-our-communities\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"In-laws Declare Wife Wanted For Refusing To Circumcise Daughter - 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