Nollywood actress, Victoria Inyama, has tendered a public apology to Nigerians over comments she made supporting Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) during an Instagram live session.
New Telegraph reports that Nigerians took to their social media page to drag Inyama after she expressed her fondness for female circumcision during Daddy Freeze’s Instagram live last week.
According to the actress, it was the best thing that ever happened to her.
She recounted undergoing circumcision while staying with her grandmother in the village and claimed it empowered her, a comment that sparked backlash on social media.
Reacting to the criticism, Inyama stated she was unaware of the situation and didn’t comprehend its seriousness until she received calls from her inner circle.
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She mentioned that a midwife reached out to explain female genital mutilation (FGM), and she now realises her experience is different from what many women face today.
Inyama mentioned that she used to believe it was simple and was unaware that victims were sewn up.
She stated that her prophetess, whom she characterised as a maternal figure, informed her that she was hospitalised for a week at 15 due to the procedure.
Inyama acknowledged her lack of knowledge regarding FGM and is currently educating herself and aims to improve.
She mentioned that she brought up the subject while talking about the underlying causes of specific problems and what her forebears thought about managing women’s desires.
She stated that FGM is harmful and expressed regret if her remarks seemed uneducated.
“A few weeks ago, on a talk show with Daddy Freeze, we were talking about issues like we always do, and I was just mentioning the root cause of certain issues and what I think or why I think it was done at that time. That’s where the FGM thing came up.
“Our ancestors thought that female circumcision would control the urges of women; unfortunately, I didn’t know the gravity of what it is in most places. FGM is bad.
“A midwife called me to explain this, and now I understand. It is nothing like what I went through; I never knew they stitched and thought it was just the basics.
“Even my prophetess in church, who is like my mother, told me she was in the hospital for a week over her episode, and she was only 15.
“For that to have happened to her and to everybody out there, I am sorry if my argument and comment came across as uninformed. Yes, I was totally uninformed about this FGM thing; now I am informed. So, now I am going to do better”, she said.
