Posted by Samuel on Thu 25th Sep, 2025 - tori.ng
The survivor, who did not want her name in print, said three of her female children had already been cut (circumcised).
On Thursday, September 24, a Female Genital Mutilation, FGM, survivor and mother of victims, narrated that lack of money for the service prevented her remaining children from being circumcised.
The survivor, who did not want her name in print, said three of her female children had already been cut (circumcised).
She disclosed this at a-two day Media Dialogue to support advocacy to end Female Genital Mutilation in Nigeria, organised by the Oyo State Ministry of Information in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, in Benin City, Edo State.
“I am a mother of six, a boy, and five girls. Among those five girls, three are circumcised. The reason why the remaining two were not circumcised is when I gave birth to my number five girl there was no money to circumcise her.
“So when I gave birth to the last one, I was now planning to circumcise the two of them together.
“So when I heard that the money they told me was big, I went back home hoping that maybe later I would go back to circumcise them, but I didn’t go back. Even up to the beginning of this year, 2025, I was still planning to go for those two because they said when they’re not circumcised, they would not stay with one husband due to promiscuity myths and beliefs.
“This was about 12 years and nine years ago as the children are now between 12 and nine years. At that time, I was asked to pay N12,000 each for the two of them.
“It was while I was still planning how to circumcise them that a female chemist introduced the FGM programme to me which I attended,” she said.
She added that, since attending the programme, she had decided that the children would not be circumcised again.
The mother, who also described herself as a survivor, advised parents to join the crusade against FGM in the country.