Harmful traditional practices: female genital mutilation and other practices

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Female genital is a problem across East Africa with devastating effects on the victims.
According to UNICEF global databases (2011), over 70 million girls and women aged 15–49 years in Africa and in Yemen have undergone FGM/C. Approximately 60 per cent of them live in sub-Saharan Africa, while 40 per cent live in the Middle East and North Africa. More than 90 per cent of women aged 15–49 years have been cut in Djibouti, Egypt, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Somalia. Prevalence of FGM/C among women aged 15–49 years varies widely, from 98 per cent in Somalia to 1 per cent in Cameroon, Uganda and Zambia (http://www.childinfo.org/fgmc_progress.html).
Despite these positive measures, women continued to be the victims and survivors of unrelenting harmful laws, practices and crime. Violence and discrimination affected females across the age spectrum, including young girls.

Over the past few decades Egypt has undertaken several attempts to limit and control female genital mutilation (FGM). However, these interventions have failed to curb the practice as it maintains wide popular support and is firmly embedded in local traditions and structures. This paper examines the evolution of anti-FGM attitudes among ever-married women in Egypt between 1995 and 2008, using five waves the Egypt Demographic and Health Surveys. The results show that the percentage in favor of the discontinuation of FGM rose from 13.9% in 1995 to 29.0% in 2008. The central question here is whether this trend is due the entry of younger cohorts who are more modern and more opposed to the practice, or to the spread of anti-FGM sentiment throughout multiple segments of society. In 1995 opposition to FGM was concentrated in two groups: non-circumcised women, and the more wealthy, urban highly educated women. The observed changes in attitudes towards FGM cannot be attributed to the entry of new cohorts and the expansion of the groups most likely to oppose FGM, but of a spread of anti-FGM sentiment to all walks of life, with poorly educated rural women the least likely to oppose FGM.

Female circumcision is a phenomenon specific to Africa continent.There is a discussion about the practices of circumcision where it is seen as the perpetuation of social and cultural values on one hand whereas, on the other hand, there are views that the individual choice and rights as an element to be factored in within the larger debate of health risk of women. The primary reason for selecting the two countries for analysis is that both are low economy country, yet the prevalence of circumcision has a telling difference even with its similar historical origination.In comparing the two countries with large scale survey (DHS), the prevalence of circumcision is much more in Nigeria than Kenya and the former lacks behind when it comes to positive perception.In carrying out the analysis, age of women, religion, ethnicity, and education are some of the important predictors affecting the perception on circumcision. The likelihood for the circumcised women wanting the practice to continues remains high for the both countries with circumcised women in Kenya 11 times more likely than the uncircumcised and in Nigeria, it is 21 times more likely than the uncircumcised women.

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.

The objective of the paper is to look at the trends and patterns in Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting in some African countries for which data (Demographic and Health Survey data) are available on FGM/C status. Several rounds of data are available for the same country. Hence it is possible to study how knowledge, prevalence and belief with respect to FGM/C have changed over time given that there have been several interventions to discourage FGM/C in these countries.

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. The paper aims to fill the lacuna in terms of information available on where these countries stand after several years of persistent policy implementation to discourage FGM/C.

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs whether for cultural or other non-therapeutic reasons (WHO). More than 100 million women and girls are estimated to have had FGM worldwide, mostly from the African continent. Every year around 2 million girls are at risk of mutilation. FGM being an inhuman practice, it is a also a violation of child rights. FGM can result into short and long term complications in the women like pain, hemorrhage, urine retention, infection, shock, infertility, menstrual difficulties, problem in pregnancy and childbirth and pelvic infections. Thus this paper attempts to study the differences in the obstetric outcomes and women’s health among cut and uncut women in Kenya. Some of the key findings indicate that Women with FGM are significantly more likely than those without FGM to have adverse obstetric outcomes. Discriminant analysis have been carried out to examine the within group and between group discriminants.

This study aimed to assess the association between polygyny and the occurrence of spontaneous abortion in sub-Saharan Africa. The data are from the Family Health and Wealth Study (FHWS) 2010 closed-cohort study of 784 Nigerian and 495 Ugandan couples living in Ipetumodu, Nigeria and Kyengera Parish, Uganda respectively. Logistic regression model was used to adjust for the effects of socioeconomic factors, use of oral contraceptive pills, gravidity, parity, health conditions, and marital relationship quality. Among the 744 Nigerian and 427 Ugandan women ever pregnant, 19.4% and 23.4% had co-wives; and 20.8% and 27.4% had suffered miscarriage, respectively. The risk of ever having a miscarriage was significantly increased by 74% (OR= 1.74; 95% CI – 1.05-2.89) and 235% (OR=2.35; 95% CI - 1.25-4.41) in women in polygynous union compared to women in monogamous union among Nigerian and Ugandan women, respectively. It was concluded that polygyny significantly increases the risk of miscarriage among our study population; more research is needed on the effect of marital structure on women’s health and its clinical implications.

This paper focuses on a study that identified and analysed all existing estimates of the prevalence of Female genital mutilation in all 28 European Union Member States and provided suggestions on how ideally it should be estimated. The presentation will present main findings and conclusions.

Objectives: The study aimed at identifying and analysing existing prevalence data on female genital mutilation in the 28 EU Member States and to provide recommendations for an improved estimation of prevalence of FGM.

Methods: The study on prevalence was part of a broader study, and was performed between December 1 2011 and December 15 2012. It included a systematic web-based search in all EU Member States and Croatia, performed by 28 national researchers (one in each Member State), following a common methodology for performing the research, analysis and reporting. The methodologies used in the studies on prevalence data were analysed and discussed at an international expert meeting.

Results: We identified no ongoing, systematic, representative surveys on FGM prevalence in all 28 countries. In 8 countries, we identified 13 prevalence studies and a number of critical issues with these studies. The paper proposes definitions of a baseline and an enhanced FGM prevalence estimate. A number of administrative records were equally ide

This study investigates the cause-effect relationship between bridewealth and domestic violence in two domains of women’s lives (contraception and women’s personal economic activities). It also examines domestic violence at different levels of bridewealth payment using the “vignette experimental” method with a sample of 276 women in rural areas. The general linear model and multiple linear regression results show a significant of bridewealth on domestic violence. On the other hand, the results also show that the effect of bridewealth on domestic violence does not differ between the domains of women’s behaviours. Domestic violence was also found to be associated more with full bridewealth payment than with no bridewealth paid. The findings underscore the effects of the custom of bridewealth payment on domestic violence. It is therefore important that the cultural norms surrounding with bridewealth payment be explored further for future female empowerment research especially for national level policies.