Assessment of Female Genital Mutilation on Healthy Living of a Girl-Child in Southwest Geo-Political Zone in Nigeria

The study assessed female genital mutation on the healthy living of a girl-child in the southwest geo-political zone in Nigeria. A survey research design was to be adopted for this study. The population for this study comprised all students of the Secondary Schools in each state capital of the Southwest zone states. A sample of one hundred students from each of the states in the Southwest zone of Nigeria was used for the study. Consequently, a total of six hundred (600) respondents were selected for this study. A structured questionnaire was the instrument used for the study. An expert was consulted to validate the questionnaire and check the expected content of the questionnaire developed. The questionnaire was administered to students of some secondary schools who are not understudied and a reliability coefficient of 0.89 was gotten which pointed out that the instrument was reliable. The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics with Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 23.0). The findings of this study revealed that the level of societal attitudes towards female genital mutilation practice in Southwest Geo-political Zone in Nigeria is poor and the level of prevalence and awareness of female genital mutilation on girl-child in Southwest Geo-political Zone in Nigeria is very low. Based on these findings, it was recommended among others that all hands must be on deck to protect the wellbeing and fundamental rights of the girl-child across the globe through proper sensitization of the dangers attached to female genital mutilation.