The law criminalizing female genital mutilation in Edo State was passed by the State Assembly several years ago to permanently checkmate the illicit activities of those behind female genital mutilation, as reports of widespread abuses are still prevalent in many communities including Etsako east local government area of Edo State.
It is widely reported that several families have either reportedly had their girl-child forcibly undergone the crude and unsafe process of female genital mutilation without the prior consent of their parents all in a bid to protect strict family norms while others have had to compulsorily abandon their relatives and fled with their family to escape the vile attendant consequences of the practice of female genital mutilation in their domain.
For several decades in Etsako east local government area of Edo State, the crude practice of Female Genital Mutilation increased astronomically with confirmed reports of attendant deaths from hemorrhage and excessive bleeding reportedly widespread several years after the implementation of the law criminalizing the act by the Edo State House of Assembly.
The latest reported case is that of a fleeing housewife identified as Mrs.Royal Bright Aiyedun whose life has been constantly under severe threats from her in-laws over her sheer refusal to present herself Mrs.Royal Bright compulsorily for circumcision as part of cultural procedures for attainment of womanhood (the passage of womanhood through Female Genital Mutilation).
Bright Aiyedun, according to confirmed reports, had earlier been through the endless trauma of FGM after losing his first daughter Jessica born on June 2, 2017 from his partner to Natasha Agboola to death from excessive bleeding on June 9 shortly after his kinsmen forcibly performed circumcision on the innocent Jessica while her helpless parents tearfully watched her die from excessive bleeding thereafter on June 17 .
Exactly 7 years after the horrifying experience of Jessica’s tragic death, the pains and trauma from the ugly incident of June 9 ceaselessly reappeared as nightmarish thoughts constantly taunting the subconscious mind of Bright Aiyedun after his pregnant wife , from the report of an ultrasound scan diligently carried out on her, happily informed her husband that she was going to have a baby girl.
For Mrs.Royal Bright, her mandatory circumcision, according to family demands, was certainly not negotiable as it was an age-long cultural practice in the family of her husband to have his wife compulsorily undergo the passage of womanhood via circumcision as the true test of her innermost strength and enduring spirit as a woman to overcome every challenges associated with irresponsible behavior including promiscuity in marriage.
Female Genital Mutilation against all odds in marriages, according to cultural beliefs, protectively guarantees for every African woman a life of fulfilled womanhood and motherhood totally devoid of any unwanted controversies deeply rooted in unfaithfulness or promiscuity in marriage.
In Etsako east culture in Edo State, the homeland of Mr.Bright Aiyedun, reports of abuses from female genital mutilation are widespread as many cases have often resulted in many fatalities often from untreated infections and excessive bleeding from the continued use of crude and unsterilized objects by either unprofessional birth attendants with little or no experience in healthcare management of cases of severe injuries or excessive bleeding sustained while performing the illicit act.
According to investigation by our correspondent, the life-threatening cultural norm practically involves the unhygienic traditional rites where the female reproductive system is openly mutilated using crude, unsterilized sharp knives and blades including broken bottles, to carry out the act of circumcision.
This cultural practice has led to serious health challenges for several victims in the past, invariably posing greater threats to public health safety as the ineffective implementation of existing laws against the prolonged cultural practice continues to generate public concerns against the continued practice of Female Genital Mutilation in several communities in Nigeria.
Confirmed reports however have it that Mr.Bright Aiyedun reportedly refused to subject his wife, Mrs.Royal Bright to the inhuman practice of circumcision, after he obstinately refused to appear before elders of his community with his pregnant during a scheduled meeting on February 25, 2024 to give reasons for wanting to publicly defy the age-long practice in the community.
It was further said that he was ruthlessly tortured and beaten up after elders ordered thugs including youths in the community to beat him up for publicly going against the age-long cultural practice of Female Genital Mutilation in the family.
However in a desperate bid to save his family from the violent wrath of his kinsmen, in August 2024, Bright Aiyedun was said to have reportedly fled with his pregnant wife from his community in Etsako east local government area of Edo State to an undisclosed location to avoid being arrested and handed over to the police as his sheer effort to have the threats from his kinsmen reported at the Police was not enough to deter his kinsmen from further assaulting him and his pregnant wife with further imminent threats of deaths.
Consequently as the police investigation into the case continues, there are strong indications that the couple’s chances of ever seeking justice wherever from relevant authorities are narrowly slimmer owing to the obvious lacuna inherent in the laws and its poor implementation against the age-long cultural practice of Female Genital Mutilation .
At the time of filing in this report, the whereabouts of Bright Aiyedun and his wife is said to be reportedly unknown to any member of the family and the community in Etsako east local government area of Edo State .
