Tradition and Health: The Predicament of Female Adolescents Among the Igbo

This article is based on a systematic study of community knowledge and traditional practices as they affect the girl- child in Abakaliki area of Ebonyi State in the South-eastern part of Nigeria. It explores the responses of 1,488 adults selected through a cluster sampling technique and interviewed by trained male and female interviewers in three local government areas of the state. A number of traditional practices that affect the girl-child include female genital mutilation, son-preference, food inhibition, and the denial of girl-child rights. These issues are examined elaborately from an empirical approach. On the basis of the findings, recommendations for designing community-based programmes against negative and unjust traditional practices against the girl-child in Abakaliki area are made. (The Journal of Cultural Studies: 2001 3(1): 284-300