Managing Director of CEOAfrica, Prince Cletus Ilobanafor has called for an end to female genital mutilation describing it as barbaric and archaic.

He made the call on Wednesday in Ibadan in commemoration of the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).

According to him,” FGM constitutes an extreme form of discrimination against women and girls. The practice violates the rights of women and girls to sexual and reproductive health, security and physical integrity, their right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and their right to life when the procedure results in death.”

Female genital mutilation (FGM) comprises all procedures that involve altering or injuring the female genitalia for non-medical reasons and is recognized internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and women.

Globally, it is estimated that at least 200 million girls and women alive today have undergone some form of FGM.

Health risks resulting from FGM includes severe pain, excessive bleeding (hemorrhage), shock, genital tissue swelling, menstrual problems, painful urination, keloids, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), post-traumatic stress disorder, etc.

International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation is a United Nations-sponsored annual awareness day that takes place on February 6 as part of the UN's efforts to eradicate female genital mutilation. It was first introduced in 2003.