We were at Ido community in Ido Local Government Area of Oyo State for a 1-day advocacy meeting with influential leaders to support the elimination of female genital mutilation in the community.
Ido community is one out of the 10 communities where we have received support from UNICEF Nigeria to implement the project “Strengthening the engagement of youth-led Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to support the acceleration of transformative actions to end Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in Oyo state.”
The purpose of the advocacy visit was achieved as we got buy-in from the Influential leaders for the implementation of our programme in their communities.
During the programme, Imam of Ido, Alhaji Babatunde Taiwo was able to relate the issue of a woman in his congregation, who has undergone reconstructive surgery of her vagina due to frequent blockage of her vagina with a consequence of Female Genital Mutilation (growth of keloids).
He confessed that he has really gained a lot for being part of the program as they had a misconception that the blockage of the woman’s vagina is spiritual.
