Female Circumcision in Sudan: Future Prospects and Strategies for Eradication

which is often referred to as clitoridectomy, entails removal of the tip of the prepuce, with or without excision of part or all of the clitoris. In Type 2, the clitoris is removed along with part or all of the labia minora. Type 3, infibulation, the most severe form of female circumcision, involves removal of most or all of the external genitalia. The vaginal opening is then stitched closed; only a small opening is left for the flow of urine and menstrual blood. Women’s infibulation scars may have to be cut open at childbirth or if problems in sexual intercourse are encountered. In Sudan, Type 1 is known as Sunna, and generally entails only removal of the tip of the prepuce. The intermediate Type 2 is referred to as Matwasat, and Type 3 is known as Pharaonic.6 Female circumcision is not associated with any one religious group. It is practiced by Muslims, Christians, Jews and members of indigenous African religions.7 Some Sudanese believe that Islam supM. Mazharul Islam is a professor in the Department of Statistics, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh. M. Mosleh Uddin is United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) representative in Iran. This article reports the results of a field survey conducted by the Central Bureau of Statistics of Sudan with the financial and technical assistance of UNFPA. Female Circumcision in Sudan: Future Prospects and Strategies for Eradication