Female Genital Cutting Restricts Sociosexuality Among the Igbo People of Southeast Nigeria

Onyishi, Ike E.; Prokop, Pavol; Okafor, Chiedozie Okechukwu; Pham, Michael N.

doi:10.1177/1474704916648784

Cited by 10 publications

(8 citation statements)

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“…Reasons for FGC vary across contexts and individuals, but are characterised by sociocultural factors [10]. FGC is believed to ensure virginity before marriage, promote sexual restraint, improve marriage prospects, enhance fertility and prepare a girl for her role as a wife and mother [3,[11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]. It is perpetuated by religion [3,16], despite predating all major religions [22,23].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Attitudes towards female genital cutting among adolescents in rural Burkina Faso: a multilevel analysis

Greis

Bärnighausen

Bountogo

et al. 2020

Tropical Med Int Health

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objective Despite decades of abandonment efforts, female genital cutting (FGC) prevalence rates in Burkina Faso remain high. We present updated prevalence data from rural adolescents and examine factors associated with FGC receipt and attitudes, testing predictions of social convention and modernisation theory regarding the abandonment process.methods We interviewed 1644 adolescents aged 12-20 years from 10 villages and one sector of Nouna town in the Nouna Health and Demographic Surveillance site in late 2017. Response-weighted prevalence for self-reported FGC receipt, beliefs about religious requirements, and attitudes about abandonment were calculated. We used bivariate regression and two-level hierarchical models to test whether social convention or modernisation theory-related factors predicted current FGC attitudes.results 43% of women in our sample reported having undergone FGC; 74% of women and 76% of men believed FGC should be abandoned. The strongest predictors of FGC receipt were religion, ethnicity, the village's FGC rate and mother's education. The strongest predictors of FGC abandonment attitudes were religion, ethnicity, belief that FGC is religiously required, and own FGC status. Males' attitudes were less determined by community factors than females'; females' attitudes were more strongly influenced by factors linked to modernization, such as maternal education and household wealth.conclusions FGC continues to be common in rural and small-town Burkina Faso, and our analysis suggests that social conventions play an important role in its continuation. However, modernisationrelated factors were stronger predictors of abandonment attitudes than of FGC status, particularly in adolescent women. The changes these relationships suggest may benefit the next generation of girls.keywords Burkina Faso, female genital cutting, social convention theory, modernisation theory, adolescents Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): SDG 3 (good health and well-being), SDG 5 (gender equity), SDG 10 (reduced inequalities), SDG 17 (partnerships for the goals) Tropical Medicine and International Health

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Attitudes towards female genital cutting among adolescents in rural Burkina Faso: a multilevel analysis

Greis

Bärnighausen

Bountogo

et al. 2020

Tropical Med Int Health

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“…The results of the few studies examining extra-pair sex during marriage are mixed. One found a higher proportion of women with FGC reported extra-pair sex (Oyefara, 2014), another found no significant difference (Yount and Abraham, 2007), and another found that women with FGC had a significantly lower incidence of extra-pair sex although the sample size was small (Onyishi et al, 2016). In summary, the majority of these studies find that FGC status is not a clear predictor of reducing women's sexual activity.…”

Section: Prior Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The idea that FGC impedes women's sexuality is consistent with some local views of FGC (Adongo et al, 1998;Skaine, 2005), however Hartung was the first evolutionary scientist to suggest that FGC might provide a fitness benefit for men by reducing their wives' desire for extramarital sex, and thus enhancing men's paternity certainty (Hartung et al, 1976). Paternity concern is proposed as one of the key drivers behind the persistence of the practice leading to a preference for marriage to women with FGC, which in turn encourages families to have FGC performed on their daughters to enhance their marriageability (Van Rossem and Gage, 2009;Onyishi et al, 2016). Unlike individual anti-cuckoldry behaviours, it is proposed that FGC (and other similar harmful cultural practices which restrict women) may be enforced indirectly by men's marriage preferences (Boyden et al, 2012;Mackie, 1996;Shell-Duncan et al, 2011;Gruenbaum, 2005).…”

Section: The Paternity Certainty Theory Of Female Genital Cutting (Fgc)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However a subsequent systematic review of 15 further studies found that women with FGC were significantly more likely to report painful sexual intercourse, no sexual desire and less sexual satisfaction (Berg and Denison, 2012). Additional studies have found support for FGC attenuating sexual feelings (Anis et al, 2012;Oyefara, 2015;Onyishi et al, 2016) while others have not (Nyairo, 2013). Qualitative ethnographic studies also present contrasting accounts, with some documenting sexual enjoyment by women with FGC (Lightfoot-Klein, 1989;Ahmadu, 2007;Esho et al, 2010) while others describe painful sexual experiences (El Dareer, 1982;Dorkenoo, 1994;Dopico, 2007).…”

Section: Prior Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

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Is there a link between paternity concern and female genital cutting in West Africa?

Howard¹,

Gibson

2019

Evolution and Human Behavior

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Here we explore the relationship between female genital cutting (FGC), sexual behaviour, and marriage opportunities in five West African countries. Using large demographic datasets (n 72,438 women, 12,704 men, 10,695 couples) we explore key (but untested) assumptions of an evolutionary proposal that FGC persists because it provides evolutionary fitness benefits for men by reducing non-paternity rates. We identify and test three assumptions implicit in this proposal. We test whether cut women have reduced extra-pair sex before or within marriage; whether FGC is associated with a younger age at marriage as an indication of partner preference; and whether individual and group-level indicators of paternity concern are associated with a stronger preference for marriage to women with FGC. Our results show that FGC status does not affect the odds of women engaging in several indicators of premarital sex, however women with FGC have significantly lower odds of having more than one lifetime sexual partner. We also show that women with FGC get married at a younger age which supports the argument that FGC status influences women's marriage opportunities, even when it does not restrict sexual activity. Finally, we find that in population groups where reported sexual activity and perceived risk of women's extra-pair sex is high, men have higher odds of marrying a first wife with FGC. Together, these results indicate that paternity certainty may be one of several factors contributing to the persistence of FGC in this sample, and that group-level sexual norms are key to maintaining the practice of FGC through the marriage market.

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“…Typically, when it is practiced, FGC is perceived as a marker of female purity, faithfulness, cleanliness, and sexual inaccessibility (Abdelshahid & Campbell, ; Van Rossem & Gage, ; Yount, ). Families cut their daughters to prevent promiscuity and premarital sex, and potential husbands select wives who are cut to ensure the paternity of offspring (Onyishi, Prokop, Okafor, & Pham, ; Ross, Strimling, Ericksen, Lindenfors, & Mulder, ). For example, in Bobo‐Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, one man explained in an interview that excised women are better at controlling themselves, and women who have not been cut “never stay at home.…”

Section: Fgcmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intergenerational Transmission of Female Genital Cutting: Community and Marriage Dynamics

Boyle

Svec

2019

J of Marriage and Family

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Objective: This study examined how characteristics of households and communities are implicated in the intergenerational transmission of gender inequality and particularly female genital cutting (FGC). Background: Human capital perspectives suggest that socioeconomic inequality predicts FGC continuation. This study contributes to discussions of institutional change by examining the association of decisions to forego FGC with household decision making patterns and community gender norms. Method:Multilevel logistic regression was deployed to analyze a pooled sample (N = 12,144) of six demographic and health surveys from Burkina Faso, Egypt, Guinea, Kenya, Mali, and Nigeria. A series of models examined how decision making styles, both at the household and community levels (2,524 demographic and health survey cluster aggregations), and community levels of FGC correspond with the risk of having a daughter cut. Results: The results show that daughters are less likely to be cut when parents make key household decisions jointly.

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Female Genital Cutting Restricts Sociosexuality Among the Igbo People of Southeast Nigeria

Cited by 10 publications

References 39 publications

Attitudes towards female genital cutting among adolescents in rural Burkina Faso: a multilevel analysis

Attitudes towards female genital cutting among adolescents in rural Burkina Faso: a multilevel analysis

Is there a link between paternity concern and female genital cutting in West Africa?

Intergenerational Transmission of Female Genital Cutting: Community and Marriage Dynamics

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