Ebonyi communities, Ekwetekwe, Ogboji, Umuezekoha, Umuoghra, Osiegbe, Amuda, Nkomoro, Eka and others all in Ezza North local government area of Ebonyi state on Saturday renounced the practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in the area.
The event funded by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) took place in Ebiaji, headquarters of the Ezza North local government. Chief of party UNICEF, Enugu Field Office, Dr. Ibrahim Conteh, while speaking, said the decision of the communities had contributed to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 5:3 which emphasised on eliminating all harmful practices, such as child abuse, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilations.
In his remarks, Conteh stated that UNICEF is in solidarity with the good people of Ezza North local government on this feat, and urged that the momentum be maintained and resolutions sustainably implemented as functional community surveillance team has already been put in place to monitor and ensure compliance and collaboration with state government and law enforcement agencies even as duty bearers will be trained to further support the efforts of the community stakeholders to permanently end th practice in Ezza North LGA of the state.
Speaking at the event, the National Human Rights Commission raised the alarm over the increasing rate of wife battering in the state.
Okorie Christopher, state coordinator National Human Rights Commission, Ebonyi state said between January and March 2021, his office had recorded over 20 cases of wife battering while urging the state stakeholders to stand against such evil acts. He further explained that violence comes in different forms, but insisted that spousal battering has been on the increase in the state.
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