Prof. Patience Ukiri-Mudiare, a gender specialist and female genital mutilation (FGM) survivor, says those who practice FGM need to be incarcerated as deterrent to end the barbaric practice.
In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, Ukiri-Mudiare said the vile act infringes on rights of children as a vulnerable group and women, who are often forced by norms and cultural practice.“Some of these cultural practices still go on undetected and underground. So we must fish them out and punish them.“
I also am a victim of that. I have undergone female genital mutilation, but I don’t think it is right. Women don’t need it.“So any parent that does that, not only should be fined, but jailed.“By the time they are incarcerated, when they come out, that stigma of having been jailed will maybe caution other parents.“
And we should report, if anybody knows of any person whose child has undergone that female genital mutilation, they should report to the appropriate quarters.“And so there has to be awareness as to where to go, not just going to the police station; they may not take you seriously.”
Meanwhile the World Health Organisation (WHO) in April 2025 raised an alarm following evidence which suggest that the FGM practice is now increasingly performed by health workers.
The organisation noted that in 2020, an estimated 52 million girls and women were subjected to FGM at the hands of health workers globally.
The organisation, while restating the health sector’s key role in stopping FGM and supporting survivors in several parts of the world, called for urgent measures to curtail rising medicalization of the practice.
Dr Pascale Allotey, WHO’s Director for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research, said FGM is a severe violation of girls’ rights and critically endangers their health, adding that the health sector must be agent for change, rather than perpetrator of the harmful practice.
She added that “evidence shows that no matter who performs FGM, it causes harm.“Some studies suggest it can even be more dangerous when performed by health workers, since it can result in deeper, more severe cuts.“Its medicalization also risks unintentionally, legitimizing the practice and may jeopardize broader efforts to abandon the practice.”
She said that for these reasons, WHO’s new guideline recommended professional codes of conduct that expressly prohibit health workers from performing FGM.
The new WHO guideline, titled “The Prevention of Female Genital Mutilation and Clinical Management of Complications”, covers actions for the health sector, governments and affected communities.
The guideline highlights the need for community education and information, alongside effective laws and policies.
