Trends in attitudes towards FGM among ever-married Egyptian women, 1995-2008: Paths of change

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.