FGM AND CULTURE
Type I (commonly referred to as clitoridectomy), Type II (commonly referred to as excision) and Type III (commonly referred to as infibulation) are the most common forms of female genital mutilation (FGM) or female genital cutting (FGC) practiced in Nigeria. Type IV is practiced to a much lesser extent. These procedures can take place anytime from a few days after birth to a few days after death.
In Edo State, for example, the procedure is performed within a few days after birth. In some very traditional communities, if a deceased woman is discovered to have never had the procedure, it may be performed on her before burial. In some communities it is performed on pregnant women during the birthing process and accounts for much of the high morbidity and mortality rates. It varies among ethnic groups.
In Nigeria, traditional healers, traditional circumcisers, traditional birth attendants and community members (usually women) are known to perform FGM and this is similar to other African countries. Through the process of medicalization, modern health practitioners and community health workers also practice FGM.
Unless performed in medical facilities, it is generally performed without the use of anaesthesia. In the South-Western Yoruba speaking region of Nigeria, the traditional circumcisers who specialise in circumcision of both male and female genitalia are called the ‘Olola’.
In the South-Eastern regions, the traditional birth attendants (TBAs) remain identifiable as the indigenous practitioners. These circumcisers serve as custodians of information on procedures and oftentimes the history of circumcision. A common characteristic observed amongst the circumcisers is their shared passion about health and cultural preservation. Majority of them have little education and do not appear to have any form of formal medical training.
There is a notable inconsistency in the types of FGM/C practiced even within the same state or community. While one practitioner attest to cutting off the clitoris, another shares that he cuts the prepuce and not just the clitoris. Enquiries with health practitioners, especially midwives, that have experience of examining the genitals of mutilated women validates this inconsistency. There is no formalized way of circumcising women in Nigeria but there are similarities in the way FGM is performed.
Non-medically approved tools and procedures have been adopted across different communities for FGM and this predisposes survivors/victims to varying forms of grievous consequences at the time of mutilation or in the future. Different forms of local leaf; cassava leaf, fermented charcoal, snail juice, herbs and more are used to treat injury from the procedure.
Sample tools used by circumcisers for the female genital cutting procedures.