Publication: Female Genital Cutting in Egypt: Drivers and Potential Responses
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Date
2017-07-21
ISSN
0961-4524
Published
2017-07-21
Author(s)
Leye, Els
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Abstract
Female genital cutting (FGC) is a major issue at the interplay of faith and health in development. The practice is in part faith-inspired, and has clear negative health impacts. The prevalence of FGC remains especially high in Egypt. This article reflects on some of the factors that lead to the perpetuation of the practice by analysing data from the 2014 Survey of Young People in Egypt. The focus is on whether religiosity, acceptance of traditional gender roles and discrimination, attitudes towards women’s autonomy, and age at marriage affect attitudes towards FGC, controlling for other factors. The results suggest that all these factors do indeed play a role.
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Publication Selected Factors Leading to the Transmission of Female Genital Mutilation Across Generations(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2018-02)The attention given to the issue of female genital mutilation or cutting (FGM/C) as a harmful practice has been growing in recent years. Yet, while ending female genital mutilation or cutting (FGM/C, both terminologies are used in the literature) is a target under the Sustainable Development Goals, the practice remains common. FGM/C is practiced not only in Africa, which is the region on which this note focuses, but also in other regions of the world and even in high income countries with diaspora from high FGM/C prevalence countries. While the prevalence of the practice is declining, it remains high in some countries. FGM/C is known to have potentially life threatening health consequences for girls, especially when the cutting is severe. While there can be significant health risks in all forms of FGM/C, especially in cases of infibulation, which can lead to the removal of virtually all external sexual organs, the practice has been linked to infections, infertility, and childbirth complications, among others. Cases of girls dying after being cut have been documented in the media. The practice may also affect the children of girls being cut, in part due to complications at birth. More generally, in terms of its drivers and other consequences, the practice is related to deep-seated patterns of gender inequality and gender-based violence.Publication Female Genital Cutting, Women's Health, and Development : The Role of the World Bank(Washington, DC : World Bank, 2007)Female Genital Mutilation or Cutting (FGM/C) is a customary practice indigenous to 28 African countries and is also reported among African immigrants in countries in Europe, North America, Australia, and New Zealand. FGM/C is also found in some Muslim communities in the highlands of India. The report documents the extent to which FGM/C is perceived as a public health issue. The social and political situation in Somalia in light of the civil unrest is likely to be a challenge in expanding the reach and effectiveness of FGC interventions particularly in rural communities. The experience of Kouroussa in Haute Guinea through the Population and Reproductive Health Project presented at the development marketplace 2000 competition with the project ending female genital cutting also gave the opportunity to the Bank to address FGM/C in a more systematic way, using all available resources. Other opportunities for supporting FGM/C programs include classic World Bank lending instruments such as Sector Investment Loans (SIL), Learning and Innovative Loans (LILs), Sector Wide Approaches (SWAPs), and poverty reduction strategies. These operations can address the issue of FGM from broader women's health and economic development angle. This position paper defines the scope of the problem in the region, suggests options for interventions, reviews constraints and identifies areas of interaction for the Bank. It also gives options for future actions within the different sectors of the World Bank Group.Publication Compendium on International and National Legal Frameworks on Female Genital Mutilation, Second Edition(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2018-02-01)Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) is a development issue and a form of violence against women and girls that affects at least 200 million women in the world. FGM/C is a harmful practice proven to impact the physical and mental health of affected women and girls from the moment of the cutting, with prolonged and irreversible consequences during their entire lives. The Compendium on International and National Legal Frameworks on Female Genital Mutilation (the “Compendium”) was prepared to contribute to this urgent and important development debate with the understanding that the knowledge of the law is an important empowerment tool to end FGM/C. It provides a survey of the key international and regional instruments as well as domestic legislation as they relate to the prohibition of FGM/C.Publication Compendium of International and National Legal Frameworks on Female Genital Mutilation, Eighth Edition(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-04-17)In 2012 and in 2018, the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolutions urging the international community to intensify global efforts to eliminate female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C). It also called upon “States, the United Nations system, civil society and all stakeholders to continue to observe 6 February as the International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM/C and to use the day to enhance awareness raising campaigns and to take concrete actions against female genital mutilations”. FGM/C is an extreme type of violence against women and girls which impairs their development potential and impacts the societies in which they live and work, their children, their families and ultimately their countries. FGM/C also undermines the World Bank’s efforts to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. Women and girls affected by FGM/C may not be able to reach their full personal, productive and professional potential. FGM/C causes a large number of physical and psychological problems and complications and can even lead to death. It imposes unnecessary suffering and prolonged pain. The international community recognized that FGM/C is an important development challenge that affects more than 200 million women and girls in the world. Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls) includes a target on eliminating all harmful practices against women, such as female genital mutilation by 2030 (target 5.3). This eighth edition describes the international and regional instruments that address FGM/C as well as the national legislations adopted to outlaw FGM/C. This is a practical online tool to empower those fighting FGM/C.Publication Compendium of International and National Legal Frameworks on Female Genital Mutilation, Fourth Edition(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-02)Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) is a development issue and a form of violence against women and girls that affects at least 200 million women in the world FGM/C is a harmful practice proven to impact the physical and mental health of affected women and girls from the moment of the cutting, with prolonged and irreversible consequences during their entire lives. Studies show that FGM/C has economic and social consequences and a high obstetric cost although a comprehensive study on the exact extent of these economic, health and social costs is still to be carried out. Beyond the data and the statistics, researcher have shown that FGM/C deprives women of sexual satisfaction, sexual health and psychophysical wellbeing. The Compendium of International and National Legal Frameworks on Female Genital Mutilation (the "Compendium") was prepared to contribute to this urgent and important development debate with the understanding that the knowledge of the law is an important empowerment tool to end FGM/C. It provides a survey of the key international and regional instruments as well as domestic legislation as they relate to the prohibition of FGM/C.
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