From Nigeria, we welcome you all to today’s Twitter Conference of the UNICEF-UNFPA Joint Programme on FGM Elimination Campaign: Accelerating Change #encuttinggirls

Today, I and my colleague @felxfames will be taking you through the topic  – “Expanding the role of Children (sons & daughters) in the campaign to end FGM”

We will tweet on the topic for 90 minutes while we will take questions and comments for the rest 30 minutes.

Join us as we share this exciting and expository time on

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) includes all procedures that involve the partial or total removal of external genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs (such as stitching of the labia majoraor pricking of the clitoris) for non-medical reasons.

@WHO classified FGM into four types

Type 1: partial or total removal of the clitoris and/or the prepuce (clitoridectomy).

Type 2: partial or total removal of & clitoris and & labia minora, with or without excision of & labia majora (excision).
jmp; labia majora (excision).

Type 3: narrowing of & vaginal orifice with creation of a covering seal by cutting and appositioning of labia minora and/or & labia majora, with or without excision of & clitoris (infibulation).

Type 4: unclassified – all other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non-medical purposes, for example, pricking, piercing, incising, scraping and cauterization.

FGM violates the human rights of girls/women, and has immediate and long-term negative effects on their health & general wellbeing. FGM is deeply rooted in tradition and persists as a social norm that is upheld by underlying gender structures and power relations.

For more information concerning FGM, kindly visit our website or YouTube Channel ( http:// www.endcuttinggirls or https://www.youtube.com/endcuttinggirlsNigeria )

Children have an important role to play in the FGM Elimination campaign in their families.

The role of children in the campaign to end FGM include, PEER EDUCATORS, ADVOCATES, CHANGE AGENTS, EDUCATORS, REPORTERS, etc.

As part of the efforts to expand the role of Children AS PEER EDUCATORS in the end FGM Campaign, The Endcuttinggils Campaign had a sensitization training for Secondary School Students in 5 State (Osun, Ebonyi, Ekiti, Imo and Oyo)

The project partnered with existing school clubs to sustain the end FGM campaign in Nigeria.

At the end of the sensitization exercise, the school clubs mainstreamed the end FGM campaign into their regular activities.

The students used Drama, Songs, Debate and quiz to pass disseminate end FGM messages to their fellow students.

The students had the opportunity to use their club activities in talking to their parents through drama and welcome songs during their school P.T.A meetings and other activities that brought their parents to their schools.

The students saw the information useful to share with their parents and relatives around during leisure discussions.

Students are always excited to share the new discoveries they’ve made about FGM with their peers in school and on social media. .

In this remaining part of this presentation, My Co-anchor @felxfames will share with us two stories of how Children are playing important role in the end FGM Campaign.

Thanks for the informative Tweets @OloriDaco1. I will take over from her.

We need to enlighten the children at all level that the campaign to end FGM concerns us all #endcuttinggirls

Continuous awareness should be raised to put a stop to this harmful practice.

Because the female body is unfortunately attacked and disfigured, even by those who should be its protector and life companion.

Children need to be empowered  in all level of education that no female should experience female genital mulation

In order to explain the role of Children as ADVOCATES, I will first share the story of Rabiatu had FGM at the age of seven and now she helps other girls avoid the pain that she went through.

The story of Rabiatu can be found here: https://www.actionaid.org.uk/blog/voices/2016/09/02/how-child-sponsorship-is-helping-tackle-fgm.

Rabiatu is 14, and lives in Ghana. When she was seven, her family persuaded her to have FGM. She explained;

“My mother and two aunts told me that if I went through with this practice then I would be a woman of importance. They said that people would respect me. They took me to a village across the border in Togo; I now know we made that journey because the practice of FGM is illegal in my country. Once in Togo an elderly lady cut me with a sharp knife. I cried for hours, the pain was so bad I couldn’t walk for four days.“

This experience made Rabiatu determined to stop any other girl from having to endure the same pain. So she joined @ActionAid ‘s Girls’ Club in Bito, where she speaks out about the dangers of FGM to other girls, and tells them about what she went through.

In order to explain the role of Children asCHANGE AGENTS, we will go to Kenya to share the storyof the five girls, called ‘The Restorers’.

In Kenya, five girls called ‘The Restorers’, created an app called i-Cut, designed to connect girls affected by FGM to legal and medical assistance.ow.ly/FSjN30dmopj 

Girls who are forced to undergo the procedure can also alert local authorities by pressing a panic button on the app.

Children can also play the role of EDUCATORS, which can happen when they take the information that they have learnt about FGM to their families and relatives.

Children love to share any information that they receive in school,or other places of learning, with their parents and relatives. So Children can also be empowered with information on FGM to share at home.

Children can be part of the FGM early warning system as REPORTERS.  They can inform to their teachers and religious leader when their parents have a baby girls so that they will remind their family not to cut her.

In conclusion, Expanding the role of Children in the end FGM campaign can help them to contribute to  campaign

Join the campaign to say “NO” and save the future generations of women. Enquire about the practice in your locality and give clear information and education to other people on the health effects of FGM.

Work with other people to stop the practice in your area. Contact health or other influential authorities in your area to notify them about the problem.

I’ll like to stop here to give room for questions, comments and feedbacks. Thank you for the time! Join us every Thursday same time to

Other exciting materials are there for your use. Join us on facebook, twitter and Instagram for our other social media activities using @endcuttinggirls.

The EndCuttingGirls Campaign has produced over 20 videos that are uploaded on our YouTube Channel (www.youTube.com/endcuttinggirlsNigeria) which can be used as educational materials during community discussions.