My FGM STORY: INT’L DAY OF ZERO TOLERANCE 2018

Silence itself can be a culture. It is a culture that ensures that a harmful traditional practice like Female Genital Mutilation persists.

This year on February 6th, with support from the Global Media Campaign to End FGM, we will be commemorating the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation with #MyFGMStory. It is time to hear what survivors of this practice, that has no documented medical benefit, have to say. It is time to hear their silent screams and understand what it means to bear scars like FGM.

Across 3 states in Nigeria, Onelife Initiative will be working with graduates of the EndFGM Media Academy to put content from survivors on air and hopefully, other survivors will come forward to tell their story. Stories have potency. They have a way of relieving what has happened and ensuring that lessons can be taken from there.

Nigeria’s prevalence on FGM needs to drop. About 20 million girls and women in Nigeria between ages 15 and 49 have been cut. If you are still in doubt that FGM happens in Nigeria, listen to this radio interview and slide to the 40th minute. Yes, that was on a live radio programme. The dignity and sexual health of the girl child will continue to be threatened if this practice is not eliminated.

Join us as we work to EndFGM in this generation. Look out for our hashtags – #MediaToEndFGM #MyFGMStory and of course #IDZT2018 and radio programmes in Akwa Ibom, Ogun and Oyo State, Nigeria.