Parliament has called on stakeholders to put efforts in eradicating Female Genital Mutilation as they express concern about the practice.
According to reports, in the early '90s, the prevalence rate was above 70 %. Currently, the prevalence rate has reduced to 4% which was achieved by the government and respective stakeholders.Â
The challenge of the practice has got to do with the unending culture of people who practice FGM. By this, Parliament is calling on stakeholders to sensitize people to know that the practice cannot be regarded as a culture.
Chairman of the Gender Committee of Parliament, Dr Appiah Kubi making a statement on the floor of parliament today said :
''FGM seems to predominate in the Upper East region where about 68% of all women are estimated to have been cut. Bawku, for instance, is said to have the highest prevalence rate of about 82% of all women aged between 15-49.FGM has no health benefits and only causes severe pain to girls and women. Critical studies has revealed that FGM is detrimental to reproductive health and predisposes girls to further health implications.Much awareness must be created by stakeholders to put a stop to FGM''.
BackgroundÂ
FGM is recognized as a violation of the human rights of girls and women. It reflects deep-rooted inequality between the sexes and constitutes an extreme form of discrimination against women.
It is nearly always carried out on minors and is a violation of the rights of children. The practice is mostly carried out by traditional circumcisers, who often play other central roles in communities, such as attending childbirths.
In many settings, health care providers perform FGM due to the erroneous belief that the procedure is safer when medicalized.
The practice also violates a person's rights to health, security and physical integrity, the right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and the right to life when the procedure results in death.
Although the procedure has no health benefits in women, it is still prevalent in the country.