scholarly journals Female genital mutilation – why does it still exist in Africa?

2015 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Annika Schmöker ◽  
Faustine Kyungu Nkulu Kalengayi
Keyword(s):  
Gender Inequality ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Female Genital Mutilation ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Genital Mutilation ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Underlying Causes ◽  
Female Genital

Abstract Female genital mutilation (FGM) includes all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia for non-medical reasons. FGM is practised in many parts of the world – including 28 African countries, some countries in the Middle East and Asia, and some population groups in Central and South America. Its prevalence rates range from 0.6% up to 97.9%, and it has been classified as a violation of human and children’s rights. Consequently, several countries have passed laws against the practice and many international programmes have been implemented to abandon it. Yet, FGM still prevails in many countries. This literature review aimed at identifying the underlying reasons for the perpetuation of FGM, ascertaining forces that foster its promotion and persistence and who is responsible for pushing its continuation. The main goal was to try to understand the underlying causes that make FGM resistant against initiatives and campaigns targeting its elimination. A literature search was carried out using several databases. All sources that approached the topic of FGM were incorporated including literature reviews, systematic reviews, qualitative and quantitative as well as mixed-method studies that described attitudes towards FGM and factors associated with its practice. Different factors that were interlinked could be identified at the individual, interpersonal, organisational/institutional as well as the community/societal level as the underlying causes of the perpetuation for FGM. These factors varied within and between different settings, and include individual characteristics such as parents’ level of education, place of residence, personal beliefs (aesthetics, health benefits, hygiene) about FGM as well as the medicalisation of FGM and the involvement of health care professionals at the institutional level. Cultural factors like gender inequality, social norms and pressure also played an important role. Surprisingly, no evidence that supported religious motives could be found in any of the three monotheistic religions. This review suggests that the reasons behind the performance of FGM differ between and within countries and contexts, but cannot be found in the scriptures even though it is mainly practiced by Muslims. Girls with low education living in small Muslim communities, in rural areas in Africa and whose parents especially the mother had a low educational level, were at increased risk of undergoing FGM. Successful actions to eliminate this practice require a balance between respect of culture and human rights. Practising communities should be involved in each step of every programme. Finally, it is crucial to target the young generations through education, women empowerment and reduction of gender inequality.

Predictors of Female Genital Mutilation or Cutting Among Daughters of Women in Guinea, West Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-13
Author(s):  
Bright Opoku Ahinkorah ◽  
Edward Kwabena Ameyaw ◽  
Abdul-Aziz Seidu ◽  
Sanni Yaya
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Female Genital Mutilation ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Wealth Index ◽  
Reproductive Age ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Genital Mutilation ◽  
Creative Commons ◽  
Credible Intervals ◽  
Female Genital

Background and Objective: In some African countries like Guinea, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) has been considered as an essential social norm in ensuring girls’ and women’s virginity by reducing their sexual desires. This study aimed at examining the factors associated with FGM/C among daughters of women aged 15-49 in Guinea. Methods: Using the 2018 Guinea Demographic and Health Survey, we analyzed data on 10,721 women of reproductive age (15-49 years) who had at least one daughter. A two-level multi-level logistic regression analysis was fitted and the random and fixed effects together with their corresponding 95% credible intervals (95% CrIs) were presented. Results: Women of all age categories had higher odds of having circumcised daughters with the substantially highest odds among those aged 35-39 (aOR=26.10, CrI=11.22-53.94) compared to those aged 15-19. “FGM/C was higher among daughters of circumcised mothers (aOR=5.50, CrI=3.11-9.72), compared to those who were not circumcise. Compared to Muslims, women who were either animists or had no religion were more likely to circumcise their daughters (aOR=2.13, CrI=1.12-4.05). Conversely, women with secondary/higher education, whose partners had secondary/higher education, Christians, women of richest wealth index and those who lived in the Faranah and N’zerekore regions were less likely to circumcise their daughters. Conclusion and Implications for Translation: The current study revealed that individual and contextual factors are associated with FGM/C among daughters of women aged 15-49 in Guinea. The findings imply that eliminating FGM/C in Guinea requires multifaceted interventions such as advocacy and educational strategies like focus group discussions, peer teaching, mentor-mentee programs in regions noted with the FGM/C practice. This will help achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 5.3 which focuses on eliminating all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation by 2030.   Copyright © 2021 Ahinkorah. et al. Published by Global Health and Education Projects, Inc. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0.

scholarly journals Hierarchical modelling of factors associated with the practice and perpetuation of female genital mutilation in the next generation of women in Africa

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. e0250411
Author(s):  
Adeniyi Francis Fagbamigbe ◽  
Imran Oludare Morhason-Bello ◽  
Yusuf Olushola Kareem ◽  
Erhabor Sunday Idemudia
Keyword(s):  
Female Genital Mutilation ◽  
Educational Status ◽  
Household Wealth ◽  
Demographic And Health Surveys ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Genital Mutilation ◽  
Logistic Regression Models ◽  
Future Burden ◽  
Context Specific ◽  
Female Genital

Despite a total prohibition on the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM), young girls continue to be victims in some African countries. There is a paucity of data on the effect of FGM practice in two generations in Africa. This study assessed the current practice of daughters’ FGM among women living in 14 FGM-prone countries in Africa as a proxy to assess the future burden of FGM in the continent. We used Demographic and Health Surveys data collected between 2010 and 2018 from 14 African countries. We analyzed information on 93,063 women-daughter pair (Level 1) from 8,396 communities (Level 2) from the 14 countries (Level 3). We fitted hierarchical multivariable binomial logistic regression models using the MLWin 3.03 module in Stata version 16 at p<0.05. The overall prevalence of FGM among mothers and their daughters was 60.0% and 21.7%, respectively, corresponding to 63.8% reduction in the mother-daughter ratio of FGM. The prevalence of FGM among daughters in Togo and Tanzania were less than one per cent, 48.6% in Guinea, with the highest prevalence of 78.3% found in Mali. The percentage reduction in mother-daughter FGM ratio was highest in Tanzania (96.7%) and Togo (94.2%), compared with 10.0% in Niger, 15.0% in Nigeria and 15.9% in Mali. Prevalence of daughters’ FGM among women with and without FGM was 34.0% and 3.1% respectively. The risk of mothers having FGM for their daughters was significantly associated with maternal age, educational status, religion, household wealth quintiles, place of residence, community unemployment and community poverty. The country and community where the women lived explained about 57% and 42% of the total variation in FGM procurement for daughters. Procurement of FGM for the daughters of the present generation of mothers in Africa is common, mainly, among those from low social, poorer, rural and less educated women. We advocate for more context-specific studies to fully assess the role of each of the identified risk factors and design sustainable intervention towards the elimination of FGM in Africa.

scholarly journals The socioeconomic dynamics of trends in female genital mutilation/cutting across Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (10) ◽  
pp. e003088
Author(s):  
Ewa Batyra ◽  
Ernestina Coast ◽  
Ben Wilson ◽  
Valeria Cetorelli
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Female Genital Mutilation ◽  
Demographic And Health Surveys ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Opposite Pattern ◽  
Genital Mutilation ◽  
Urban Rural ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Socioeconomic Differentials ◽  
Female Genital

BackgroundThe majority of women who undergo female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) live in Africa. Although the UN Sustainable Development Goals call for intensified efforts to accelerate the abandonment of FGM/C, little is known about where in Africa the declines in prevalence have been fastest and whether changes in prevalence differ by women’s socioeconomic status.MethodsWe use data from Demographic and Health Surveys and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys for 23 African countries, collected between 2002 and 2016, and covering 293 170 women. We reconstruct long-term cohort trends in FGM/C prevalence spanning 35 years, for women born between 1965 and 1999. We compute absolute and relative changes in FGM/C prevalence and differentials in prevalence by women’s education and urban-rural residence. We examine whether socioeconomic differences in FGM/C are converging or diverging.FindingsFGM/C prevalence has declined fastest (in relative terms) in countries with lower initial prevalence, and more slowly in countries with higher initial prevalence. Although better-educated women and those living in urban areas tend to have lower prevalence, in some countries the opposite pattern is observed. Socioeconomic differentials in FGM/C have grown in the majority of countries, particularly in countries with moderate-to-higher overall prevalence.ConclusionsThe documented relationship between absolute and relative FGM/C prevalence rates suggests that in settings with higher initial prevalence, FGM/C practice is likely to be more entrenched and to change more slowly. There is substantial variation between countries in socioeconomic differentials in prevalence and their changes over time. As countries change from higher to lower overall prevalence, socioeconomic inequalities in FGM/C are increasing.

The Attitudes toward Female Genital Mutilation: A Survey among the Residents of Uramanat Region, Iran

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Osman Mahmoudi ◽  
Elham Hosseini
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Female Genital Mutilation ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Religious Practice ◽  
Genital Organ ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Genital Mutilation ◽  
Healthy Female ◽  
Physical Effects ◽  
Female Genital

Background: Female genital mutilation (FGM) refers to the removal of a part or the entire female genital organ, which is often performed by a local individual using a blade without any anesthetics. FGM is concentrated in some African countries, Asia, and the Middle East. Objective: The present study was conducted in Iran, where FGM is a religious practice and not considered a crime, aiming to evaluate the information, beliefs, and understanding of the phenomenon among the residents of Uramanat (Javanrood, Ravansar, Salas, and Paveh cities) and compare the differences in the responses of the residents. Methods: A questionnaire was distributed among the Uramanat residents of Kermanshah province, Iran. Data were collected on the age, marital status, attitude, and knowledge of FGM. Results: The survey was implemented among 250 residents of the Uramanat region, and 212 questionnaires (82.7%) were returned by 96 women (47%) and 109 men (54%). Notably, 66.8% of the female participants had been circumcised. The findings indicated that 81.04% of the male residents and 88.5% of the female residents believed that FGM is a religious practice. Only 8.1% of the female residents compared to 18.7% of the male residents considered FGM to be illegal. Although 78.8% of the male participants stated that their spouse was circumcised, the majority of the men (57.8%) preferred a wife with a healthy female genitalia. Conclusions: According to the results, there are numerous and confusing perspectives regarding FGM. The lack of specific rules and knowledge about the psychological, sexual, and physical effects of FGM lead to the continuation of this practice. Therefore, raising the awareness of various social groups about FGM and its complications could put an end to this inhuman issue.

Nurses and Requests for Female Genital Mutilation: cultural rights versus human rights

2001 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 247-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberta Sala ◽  
Duilio Manara
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Female Genital Mutilation ◽  
Fundamental Problem ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Genital Mutilation ◽  
The Public ◽  
Cultural Rights ◽  
Italian Law ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Female Genital

In this article we focus on female genital mutilation. We analyse this problem as one of the most important issues of multiculturalism, which is also coming to the attention of the public in Italy as a consequence of the growing number of immigrants from African countries. The fundamental problem is about the acceptability of this practice: can female genital mutilation be permitted and, if so, on what basis? We will try to cope with this as a genuine conflict between culture-relative values and universal values, such as human rights. Some attention will be drawn to Italian law. Finally, the impact on nurses of requests for genital mutilation will be described.

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