Executive summary
This Innocenti Insight examines the social dynamics of the abandonment of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) in five countries – Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Senegal and the Sudan – and seeks to inform policies and programmes aimed at ending the practice, both in countries where it is part of local tradition and among diaspora communities in countries of immigration.
FGM/C is a violation of the human rights of women and girls. Even if not intended as a violent act, the practice is de facto violent. It is a manifestation of deep-rooted gender inequalities and is discriminatory in nature. The practice is rooted in cultural understandings of gender, sexuality, marriage and family. These understandings influence how it is viewed and tolerated in different contexts. Despite the range of diversity found across and within the five countries analysed, the experiences confirm that in communities where it is practised, FGM/C is viewed as a necessary step to raise and protect a girl and often to make her eligible for marriage. It operates as a social convention and a social norm, and is held in place by reciprocal expectations within those communities.
The social rewards and sanctions associated with FGM/C are a powerful determinant of both the continuation and the abandonment of the practice. Failure to conform to FGM/C can affect not only a girl’s marriageability, it can also lead to social exclusion, ostracism or even violence. Nonconformity may also affect the standing of a girl’s family within the community. Conformity, on the other hand, meets with social approval, brings respect and admiration and maintains social standing in the community.
The experiences from the five countries documented in this Innocenti Insight provide evidence that the abandonment of FGM/C is possible when programmes and policies address the complex social dynamics associated with the practice and challenge established gender relationships and existing assumptions and stereotypes. An understanding and appreciation of these social dynamics is transforming the ways in which FGM/C abandonment is approached. Rather than ‘fighting’ against local culture and presenting traditional behaviours as negative, effective programmes propose alternative mechanisms to signal adherence to shared community values and to frame the discussion surrounding FGM/C in a non-threatening way.
When programmes are holistic and community-based and incorporate human rights deliberation, and when they create an environment that enables and supports change, transformation of social norms and conventions can occur. This programmatic approach not only addresses the practice of FGM/C, but evidence from this report suggests that it also promotes and contributes to the abandonment of other harmful practices, directly supporting the advancement of the broader goals of reducing gender inequality and violence against girls and women.
The analysed documentation and programme evaluation demonstrate progress towards effective abandonment of the practice in intervention areas and, in some cases, beyond. They also provide evidence of significant changes in attitudes towards FGM/C over a relatively brief period of 10 years. The changes over this time frame are, in many cases, significant. They indicate that individuals and communities are increasingly questioning the merits of these practices and would prefer, circumstances permitting, to not have their daughters cut. This publication concludes with reflections on the remaining challenges of FGM/C abandonment and offers recommendations for future research and programme interventions.