A Nigerian Muslim group, Nasrul-Lahi-l-Fatih Society (NASFAT), yesterday, launched a campaign to eradicate what it described as “epidemic of violence against women and girls” in Nigeria.

The society, in partnership with UNICEF, also expressed concerns over the circumcision of women and girls, saying findings revealed that 20% of them were circumcised before the age of five.

NASFAT’s National Women Affairs Secretary, Alhaja Suwebat Kupolati, in a briefing in Abuja, said studies showed that 19% of girls in Nigeria are married before the age of fifteen, thereby exposing them to the risk of sexually transmitted infection, cervical cancer, vesicovaginal fistula and maternal mortality.

“This campaign will be sending a strong message out to the world that the epidemic of violence against women and girls needs to end. Violence affects women and girls in every country of the globe including Nigeria,” she said.

NASFAT zonal missioner in Abuja, Imam Sharafadeen Aliagan, urged men to always fear Allah in their dealings.

It should always be in their minds that God forbids any act of violence, he added.