The Ekiti State Government has handed out grants worth N42.5 million to 180 former practitioners of female circumcision in the state as part of efforts to discourage female genital mutilation (FGM) in the state.
The beneficiaries of the grants had publicly handed over their trade tools to the First Lady of Ekiti State, at the ‘Drop the Blade Initiative’, which took place in Ado Ekiti.
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Addressing the beneficiaries, Mrs Erelu Fayemi said the grant was to discourage the former practitioners from returning to the harmful practice having denounced the trade.
Mrs Fayemi reiterated the state government’s zero tolerance for gender-based violence and female genital mutilation.
She said the government would not hesitate to clamp down on people who still practice the trade which is seen as violence against girls.
She said a minimum N250,000 grant given to each of the former practitioners was a start-up capital for them to start a profitable business venture that would not be harmful to the society.
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