|
"We also looked at the interest of
the foundation and decided to concentrate on FGM and to train
the youth from those areas to become peer educators," Mrs.
Oyefunso Orenuga, acting executive director of IAC Nigeria said.
The organisation from inception has
been preaching zero tolerance on FGM, insisting that there is no
excuse whatsoever for people to practice FGM either to a girl
child or a woman. However, the message against the practice will
further be made pronounced internationally when the world will
mark zero tolerance day, a campaign against FGM that is
celebrated on every February 6.
Another trend, which of course has
won the heart of IAC donors, is to get the youth involve in the
campaign against FGM. The reason, which is not far fetched, the
acting director said, was because the youth are still young to
be bent for proper understanding of culture and social norms. "The
theme for this month workshop captures it all. You know the
youth are dynamic, they are fluid and they can carry the message
around. This can easily stick more to their character towards
this harmful traditional practice.
"I am sure that by the time these
youths grow up to adulthood, their attitude towards women will
change from those of their fathers and remain with their wives
as equal and will be able to break down some cultural barriers
that put women as second class citizen," she said.
She said about eleven states, have
passed bills legislating against FGM. Surprisingly, those states
happen to be the areas where the practice of FGM is very common.
These include the South-south states and almost the whole of
Southwest, except Lagos that is still dilly-dallying on the
matter.
"We are working on Lagos State as
well as sensitising people at the local government levels. The
local governments promised to pass a bye law in their areas
banning FGM," she said.
According to Mrs. Orenuga, the
practice of FMG in the north is under the unclassified types as
defined by the World Health Organisation (WHO), which is not
seen as FGM. However, what IAC is concentrating their energy on
is the eradication of early child marriage. This, she said shows
that priority defers from states to states.
At the workshop, Mrs. Ojo Tolu of
Action Health Incorporated (AHI) educated the youth on
adolescent sexuality. Major issues of concern on sexuality, she
pointed out include, unintended pregnancies, unsafe induced
abortions, sexual abuse, early marriage, FGM and sexual
transmitted diseases (STIs) as well as HIV/AIDS. Sexual abuse in
Nigeria and its prevalence remains unknown because much of it is
not reported, according to Tolu.
Rhetorically, she asked why are the
youth vulnerable to sexual attack? Proffering an answer, she
noted that culture; poverty, powerlessness and ignorance are
core reasons. Even when the youth are infected, she said many of
them are often reluctant to seek treatment for STIs or cannot
even afford the cost of treatment at all.
The culture of silence has for
years affected many youths who know very little about their
sexuality, even when they are sexually active. She said, "many
years of silence around sex and sexuality have had hidden costs.
Now, these costs are hitting us hard on the face. If nothing,
because of the AIDS endemic we must get past this culture of
silence", she said, quoting Greeta Rao Gupta, president,
International for Research on Women.
Reviewing the points earlier, she
said poverty has pressured many young girls to use their bodies
to access resources with grave consequences for their sexual and
reproductive health. On gender inequalities, Tolu emphasised
that imbalance of power in the social and economic spheres of
life also translate into great power imbalances in heterosexual
relationships.
She said many first sexual
experiences are the result of force or coercion by older
partners, which made girls more vulnerable to sexual abuse and
inducements to sex offered to young girls from poor families,
which are hard for them to resist.
Basically, the only way out of the
woods she reasoned was to continue in advocacy, education,
services and livelihoods, which will improve young peoples
social and economic conditions to reduce vulnerability. Advocacy
however, will mobilise policy makers and communities to take
necessary actions as well as provide programme funding. While
education she said, will build young peoples knowledge and
skills about their sexuality to enable them make informed
choices.
The youth during the workshop were
also taken through other fields of study which were some how
unconnected to health related issues, but lectures that will
equip them with better skills that will enable them disseminate
information relating to FGM with ease. Ms. Bukola Taiwo of
Development Community Network (DEVCOMS) took participants on
communication skill, concept of peer education and barriers to
effective communication. With good communication skills, Ms.
Taiwo noted that it will be easy for youth to think, talk and
act against harmful practices affecting the society as well as
serve as peer educators that will inform their fellow youth,
family and the community.
|
