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International Journal for Equity in Health
Published in: International Journal for Equity in Health 1/2016

Open Access 01-12-2016 | Research

Trends in attitudes towards female genital mutilation among ever-married Egyptian women, evidence from the Demographic and Health Surveys, 1995–2014: paths of change

Authors: Ronan Van Rossem, Dominique Meekers, Anastasia J. Gage

Published in: International Journal for Equity in Health | Issue 1/2016

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Abstract

Background

Over 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.

Method

This 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.

Results

The 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.

Conclusion

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. 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.
Footnotes
1
The answer option “other” was only included in the 2000 and 2003 surveys.
 
2
Although the DHS data include a wealth index, this indicator measures relative wealth within the country at the time of the survey. As such, the scores of this wealth index cannot be compared across countries or over time [40, 41].
 
3
The DHS classifies urban areas into large cities (capital cities and cities with over 1 million population), small cities (population over 50,000), and towns (other urban areas). All rural areas are assumed to be countryside. Note that the 2014 survey only distinguishes between rural and urban locations.
 
4
Including these variables would have caused these categories to very strongly discriminate between the waves that included them and those that did not.
 
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Metadata
Title
Trends in attitudes towards female genital mutilation among ever-married Egyptian women, evidence from the Demographic and Health Surveys, 1995–2014: paths of change
Authors
Ronan Van Rossem
Dominique Meekers
Anastasia J. Gage
Publication date
01-12-2016
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
International Journal for Equity in Health / Issue 1/2016
Electronic ISSN: 1475-9276
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-016-0324-x

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