May 27, 2010
By Ghana News Agency

Chiefs in Mamprugu area in the Northern Region, have called on the Mamprugu Traditional Council to as matter of urgency asked the District.


Assemblies in the area to enact a by-law to ban negative cultural practices, especially Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).

The 36 chiefs made the call in a communiqué issued at the end of a seminar on FGM organized by the Ghana Association for Women's Welfare (GAWW), at Gambaga in the region.

The statement, which was signed Wuni Grumah, Tarana, N F.Y Wari, Bukpenaba, and Naa E.D. Mahami, Nagborana, some of the chiefs of Mamprugu, said that FGM was against fundamental human rights and could also affect the health of women and girls who were forced to undergo such negative cultural practices.

The communiqué said girls who experienced FGM could suffer psychological and reproductive health problems which could increase their vulnerability to HIV and adverse obstetrics and prenatal outcomes.

It reminded the public that the practice of FGM was an offence under the laws of the country.

The communiqué called on individuals and organisations to support efforts aimed at eliminating obsolete cultural practices from the Mamprugu Traditional Area.
The East Mamprusi District Director of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Mr. Thomas Sennor appealed to traditional rulers in the area to work as a team to end negative cultural practices.

He said that the GHS would collaborate with GAWW to eradicate FGM from the area.

The President of GAWW, Mrs. Florence Ali said that some communities continued to practice FGM due to lack of effective structures to deal with the problem and pledged that the association would work hard to stop FGM.
She said GAWW in collaboration with chiefs in the Wa area supported the Assemblies to pass by-laws on FGM which had helped in curbing the practice.

GNA