Husband Cries Out Over Disappearance Of Wife, Daughter Due To Female Genital Mutilation
ENUGU – Worried about his family and the dangerous aftermath of female genital mutilation (FGM) on the girl-child in Nigeria, Mr. Felix Ojiakor Chukwuma from Enugu State, the husband to Adeitan (from Ondo state) has called on Nigerians to save and find her 5-year-old missing daughter, Favour Ojiakor Chukwuma and her mother, from his extended family who had forcefully subjected their first daughter Ebere Chukwuma 8 years old to genital mutilation in the name of family tradition.
Felix Chukwuma, the father who narrated the ordeal to our reporter on the Wednesday said the family approached him on the 22nd of December, 2022 when he travelled for Christmas celebrations with his family to unite and establish a family bond as they celebrated the season.
Felix and Adeitan agreed to also use the holiday period as a time to associate with the other extended family and get to know each other.
On the 22nd December 2022 late in the evening Felix and Adeitan were confronted by families requesting their daughters for genital mutilation. The couple explained that they tried everything they could to convince them that night not to carry out their intentions of performing the mutilation on their daughters, but the families were adamant, threatened and left. It was too late for the couple to leave the village that night, Felix assured his wife that he would see the elders the next morning to dissuade them.
On the 23rd of December 2022, Mr. Ogbu and Mr Egbo whom are part of the eldest in the family of Felix Chukwuma came around and forcefully took Ebere their first daughter, thereafter they performed the hideous act of genital mutilation, also known as female genital cutting and female circumcision.
Narrating his ordeal, Mr. Felix Chukwuma said: “When they came in early that morning, my wife and I were frightened and I thought I could handle them as my family, but things got worse, with constant diabolic threats to deal with me if I continued with my resistance.
“Unfortunately, my wife and I were overpowered and beaten up by the thugs who accompanied the elders, they succeeded in taking away our first daughter. My wife got traumatized and fled with our second daughter, since then I have neither seen my wife nor heard from my daughter.
“I therefore appeal to the media to please make use of their good office to make this message go viral so I can connect with my daughter and my wife. Ebere is in pain and all I can hope for is that she gets better and heals.”
The Encounter News reports that, more than 200 million girls and women alive today have been cut in 30 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia where FGM is concentrated. FGM is mostly carried out on young girls between infancy and age 15.
The incident has once again raised concerns about the growing rate of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in Nigeria.
“The menace must thoroughly be addressed before it went out of control in some state in Nigeria.
“It is nearly always carried out on minors and is a violation of the rights of children. The practice also violates a person’s rights to health, security and physical integrity.
“FGM is a violation of the human rights of girls and women. Female genital mutilation comprises all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons,” a WHO consultant strongly urged health professionals not to perform such procedures.
