Religion and practice of excision in Côte d'Ivoire

Female circumcision is a practice which dated as far back as ancient Egypt and which is still rampant nowadays. The reasons given to justify this are numerous. The preservation of the virginity of the woman until marriage and the respect of the religions and customs of peoples are some of the reasons which make this practice common. This study has allowed us to highlight two key factors in the practice of female circumcision. These are religion and ethnicity. These two factors are also correlated. The Muslim religion has emerged as one in which the proportion of circumcised women is the highest which is not the case among Christians and animists. In the Southern Mande ethnic group, female circumcision is very common. These people are also very much in favor of female circumcision. On the other hand, the Akan people who are predominantly Christian are less likely to circumcise their daughters and have a low prevalence of circumcised females. Although there is a link between religion and the practice of circumcision, the search for reasons to justify this practice has proven otherwise. Thus, circumcision is not tied to religion, but rather to traditions that persist within different ethnic groups.