Community Influences on Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting in Kenya: Norms, Opportunities, and Ethnic Diversity

Abstract

Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGMC) is a human-rights violation with adverse health consequences. Although prevalence is declining, the practice persists in many countries, and the individual and contextual risk factors associated with FGMC remain poorly understood. We propose an integrated theory about contextual factors and test it using multilevel discrete-time hazard models in a nationally representative sample of 7,535 women with daughters who participated in the 2014 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey. A daughter's adjusted hazard of FGMC was lower if she: had an uncut mother who disfavored FGMC, lived in a community that was more opposed to FGMC, and lived in a more ethnically diverse community. Unexpectedly, a daughter's adjusted FGMC hazard was higher if she lived in a community with more extrafamilial opportunities for women. Other measures of women's opportunities warrant consideration, and interventions to shift FGMC norms in more ethnically diverse communities show promise to accelerate abandonment. AbstractFemale genital mutilation/cutting (FGMC) is a human-rights violation with adverse health consequences. Although prevalence is declining, the practice persists in many countries, and the individual and contextual risk factors associated with FGMC remain poorly understood. We propose an integrated theory about contextual factors and test it using multilevel discrete-time hazard models in a nationally representative sample of 7,535 women with daughters who participated in the 2014 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey. A daughter's adjusted hazard of FGMC was lower if she: had an uncut mother who disfavored FGMC, lived in a community that was more opposed to FGMC, and lived in a more ethnically diverse community. Unexpectedly, a daughter's adjusted FGMC hazard was higher if she lived in a community with more extrafamilial opportunities for women. Other measures of women's opportunities warrant consideration, and interventions to shift FGMC norms in more ethnically diverse communities show promise to accelerate abandonment.

Female genital mutilation/cutting in Nigeria: Is the practice declining? A descriptive analysis of successive demographic and health surveys and multiple indicator cluster surveys (2003–2017)

“…However, more cultural diversity in urban settings may limit negative social sanctions, particularly where there is a significant mix of practicing and non-practising groups (Shell-Duncan, Gathara, and Moore 2017). Although a recent study using data from Kenya found that living in a community with more extrafamilial opportunities for women increased a daughter's likelihood of FGMC (Grose et al 2019), and diminished the importance of social networks based on lineage, the influence from interaction with those who do not practice FGM/C may shift opinions about the practice (Shell-Duncan, Gathara, and Moore 2017) and reduce the likelihood of girls in urban areas undergoing FGM/C.…”

Community gender systems and a daughter’s risk of female genital mutilation/cutting: Multilevel findings from Egypt

“…To date, few studies have examined the community-level influences on FGMC. Important identified influences have included the extent of ethnic diversity in the village or neighborhood [38], social networks among women [39], and local marriage markets [10,19,20,34,[37][38][39]. Such evidence suggests that girls are embedded in multiple "communities" that may or may not be geographically bounded and may vary in the nature and composition of social ties.…”

“…Moreover, although a large rural population exists in Egypt, the Egyptian economy is more diversified and less dependent on subsistence agriculture than are the economies of other countries where FGMC is common. The greater economic opportunity outside familybased agriculture, alongside persistent elements of classic patriarchy that reinforce women's economic dependence on male family members [60], may make expanded opportunities for women outside the family more consequential in Egypt than elsewhere [38]. Also, conditions surrounding the practice of FGMC in diaspora communities, where the maintenance of gender norms is tied to questions of cultural preservation and immigrant integration, may require specific theorization.…”

Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting in Mali and Mauritania: Understanding Trends and Evaluating Policies

“…2013; Shell‐Duncan, Naik, and Feldman‐Jacobs 2016; Grose et al. 2019). Variation in FGM/C is explained by community‐specific factors, including norms and collective identity (Hayford 2005; Hayford and Trinitapoli 2011; Grose et al.…”

“…Variation in FGM/C is explained by community‐specific factors, including norms and collective identity (Hayford 2005; Hayford and Trinitapoli 2011; Grose et al. 2019), although the practice is sometimes normalized to the extent that women report not knowing the reasons for having undergone the procedure (Mandara 2004).…”