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From Priscilla Ediare, Ado Ekiti
In its continued efforts to ensure that the practice of Female Genital Mutilation FGM becomes a thing of the past in Nigeria, an NGO, Hacey Health Initiative, recently organised a media dialogue with journalists in a programme tagged “STOP CUT” in Ado Ekiti to further enlighten the people of the state on the ills associated with the practice.
The NGO, which described the practice as deadly and capable of negatively affecting the survival and development of women and the girl-child, noted the practice could only be defeated through concerted effort.
Identifying the vital roles of the media in creating awareness among the public, Hacey sought the engagement of media practitioners and media organizations as indispensable tools to eradicate the trend.
The Ekiti State Coordinator of the NGO, Oluwanifemi Helen Ayeni said, “the media has a vital role to play if we must win this war and eradicate the practice.”
She added that the media are vast tools that can be used to spread awareness and bring about positive behavioural change through sharing the appropriate content with the public.
“We organised the media dialogue, bringing together media personnel to feed us on how we could partner better and through the interaction, we got how we can leverage on press releases and to focus attention on organisations that have Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) with structures in place that are already carrying out activities.”
On his part, Mr Tolulope Ayotunde Ogunniyi, the Desk Officer, Female Genital Mutilation, Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development in the state, called on the generality of the people to take it as a point of responsibility that in their households, no girl or woman is cut.
“Once everybody has this kind of mind, automatically, we will have an FGM-free state and Nigeria at large.”
The NGO’s Communication Manager, Anne Bassey, who said media personnel have been educated on the practice of FGM, noted the fight to end it is real, adding that there are laws and policies that protect women and girls from violence.
She said the media are expected to educate the masses in return. “We are in a society where nobody needs to keep quiet when things are happening as the law enforcement agencies are there to act if reported,” she said.
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