Abstract
BackgroundOver the past few decades Egypt has attempted to limit and control female genital mutilation (FGM). However, these efforts have not succeeded in curbing the practice, which maintains wide popular support and is firmly embedded in local traditions and structures. An attitudinal change is therefore a prerequisite for any successful campaign against FGM. This paper charts the evolution of beliefs that the practice of FGM in Egypt should be stopped.MethodThis paper examines trends in opposition to FGM among ever-married women in Egypt between 1995 and 2014, using six waves of the Egypt Demographic and Health Surveys.ResultsThe results show that the percentage of ever-married women who think the practice of FGM should be stopped rose from 13.9 % in 1995 to 31.3 % in 2014. The central question here is whether this trend exists because new cohorts of young married women are more modern and more opposed to the practice, or because opposition to FGM has spread through multiple segments of society. Our results show that back in 1995 opposition to FGM was concentrated in two groups: non-circumcised women, and wealthy, highly educated urban women. Between 1995 and 2014 opposition to FGM increased considerably among other groups of women.ConclusionOur results show that the observed increases in opposition to FGM are not caused by younger cohorts of married women who oppose FGM, nor by the expansion of the groups most likely to oppose FGM. Rather, the results imply that the belief that FGM should be stopped spread to all walks of life, although poorly educated rural women remain least likely to oppose FGM.
Highlights
Over the past few decades Egypt has attempted to limit and control female genital mutilation (FGM)
The central question here is whether this trend exists because new cohorts of young married women are more modern and more opposed to the practice, or because opposition to FGM has spread through multiple segments of society
Our results show that the observed increases in opposition to FGM are not caused by younger cohorts of married women who oppose FGM, nor by the expansion of the groups most likely to oppose FGM
Summary
The early opponents of FGM In 1995 only 12.7 % of ever-married women believed FGM should be stopped (1882 out of 14767). While in 1995 the gap between the two centroid scores was still 1.74, by 2014 it had narrowed to 0.94 (not shown) All these findings point to three observations: first, the difference between the two groups reduced over time; second, opposition to FGM was originally concentrated among the well-educated urban segments of Egyptian society, it has become more widespread in all segments of society; and third, the group of women who are support FGM is modernizing rapidly as the overall level of education of Egyptian women is increasing, on average they remain significantly more traditional than women who believe FGM should be discontinued. There is substantial shift over the period studied towards the negative end of the axis, Fig. 4 Discriminant analysis, mean (centroid) scores for women who believe FGC should be discontinued and women who do not believe it needs to be discontinued, by EDHS survey i.e., with respondents who are more likely to live in rural areas and to have secondary education than predicted by the first LDF
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
