Female Genital Mutilation in Africa- Trends and patterns in Africa

The objective of the paper is to look at the trends and patterns in Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting in some (11) African countries for which data (Demographic and Health Survey data) are available. It attempts to study how knowledge, prevalence and belief with respect to FGM/C have changed over time. The paper also aims to look at this practice at a disaggregated level that is by region and ethnic group to uncover any evidence of differences in practice by these sub-groups. This evidence will help the policy makers not only to evaluate if their policies have had any effect on FGM/C status but also indicate which region or ethnic group needs most help or attention. The analysis will include descriptive statistics and logit models to understand the trends and patterns in FGM/C for each of the 11 countries. The dependent variables in the logit models are the following: 1. Heard about FGM/C (heard =1; not heard =0); 2. Have been circumcised (yes=1; no=0); 3. Believe that circumcision is mandated by religion (yes=1; no=0); 4. Circumcision should be discontinued (yes=1; no=0). The logit models will attempt to study the correlates of each of the dependent variables.