Female Genital Cutting and Long-Term Health Consequences – Nationally Representative Estimates across 13 Countries

Abstract

Using cross-sectional data from 13 African countries, I compare long-term health outcomes across cut and uncut women. This study is the first to use nationally representative data. Consistent with medical research, no evidence of general health impairments or decreased fertility induced by female genital cutting (FGC) is found; rather cut women have more children. The most pronounced long-term health impairments are a 24 per cent increase in the odds of contracting sexually transmitted infections and a 15 per cent increase in genital problems. Concomitantly, the odds that a cut woman will marry before an uncut woman are 13 per cent.