Women's position and attitudes towards female genital mutilation in Egypt: A secondary analysis of the Egypt demographic and health surveys, 1995-2014
نویسندگان
چکیده
BACKGROUND Female genital mutilation (FGM) is still widespread in Egyptian society. It is strongly entrenched in local tradition and culture and has a strong link to the position of women. To eradicate the practice a major attitudinal change is a required for which an improvement in the social position of women is a prerequisite. This study examines the relationship between Egyptian women's social positions and their attitudes towards FGM, and investigates whether the spread of anti-FGM attitudes is related to the observed improvements in the position of women over time. METHODS Changes in attitudes towards FGM are tracked using data from the Egypt Demographic and Health Surveys from 1995 to 2014. Multilevel logistic regressions are used to estimate 1) the effects of indicators of a woman's social position on her attitude towards FGM, and 2) whether these effects change over time. RESULTS Literate, better educated and employed women are more likely to oppose FGM. Initially growing opposition to FGM was related to the expansion of women's education, but lately opposition to FGM also seems to have spread to other segments of Egyptian society. CONCLUSIONS The improvement of women's social position has certainly contributed to the spread of anti-FGM attitudes in Egyptian society. Better educated and less traditional women were at the heart of this change, and formed the basis from where anti-FGM sentiment has spread over wider segments of Egyptian society.
منابع مشابه
Women’s attitudes towards discontinuation of female genital mutilation in Egypt
BACKGROUND To examine women's attitude towards discontinuation of female genital mutilation (FGM) in association with their access to information, knowledge of health effects and cultural beliefs concerning FGM in Egypt. METHODS A cross-sectional study of 9159 women, using data from the household survey in Egypt by Demographic and Health survey 2003. A comprehensive questionnaire covering att...
متن کاملTrends in attitudes towards female genital mutilation among ever-married Egyptian women, evidence from the Demographic and Health Surveys, 1995–2014: paths of change
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 ...
متن کاملEgyptian women's attitudes and beliefs about female genital cutting and its association with childhood maltreatment.
This study aimed to establish Egyptian women's attitudes and beliefs about female genital cutting (FGC) or mutilation by applying a questionnaire module about violence to a subsample of 5,249 married women from a total of 19,474 women who participated in the 2005 Egypt Demographic Health Survey. Women were interviewed to determine if they had been exposed to marital violence in the year prior t...
متن کاملWomen's empowerment and the intention to continue the practice of female genital cutting in Egypt.
BACKGROUND The study aimed to (dis)prove the association of the level of women's empowerment with their future intention to perpetuate female genital cutting for their daughters. METHODS In a national representative community-based sample of 14,393 currently-married women in Egypt, the level of empowerment, intention to continue the practice, and other socio- demographic variables were collec...
متن کاملEpidemiological insights on the association between female genital mutilation and Hepatitis C Infection in Egypt: An Examination using Demographic and Health Survey data of Egypt, 2008
Purpose: Egypt has the highest prevalence of chronic Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections and also a high prevalence of female genital mutilation (FGM). The high prevalence chronic hepatitis C has been attributed to HCV transmission by contaminated injections for the control of schistosomiasis. HCV infection has not been well studied in the context of female genital mutilation (FGM). We sought to...
متن کامل