Female Genital Mutilation and its effects over Women's Health

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.