CLITORIDECTOMY AND THE ISLAMIC POSITION: THE CASE OF MUSLIMS IN NASARAWA STATE OF NIGERIA

Africa has the greatest number of clitoridectomy cases, as the World Health Organization believes that between 100 million and 140 million women and girls have undergone the surgery throughout the world, 92 million of them over the age of ten living in Africa. Clitoridectomy has been outlawed in Britain, Canada, France, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States. Nigeria, due to its large population, has the highest cases of clitoridectomy worldwide, accounting for about one-quarter of the estimated 130-160 million circumcised women in the world. The objective of this paper is to ascertain the status and the practice of clitoridectomy in Nasarawa State, Nigeria and to establish the Islamic guidelines and moral principles of Clitoridectomy among the Muslims in Nasarawa State in particular and Nigeria in general. The research uses oral interview as a method of data collection, in addition to the Qur'an, hadith, scholar's opinion and the views of the generality of the Muslims. The paper adopts descriptive methodology and the finding in this research reveals that the prevalence of clitoridectomy is declining in Nasarawa State due to lack of proper moral and Islamic guidance as well as health hazard associated with the practice. The paper therefore recommends that the Islamic injunctions and directives be strictly followed whenever clitoridectomy is to be done.