The Association Between Women's Social Position and the Medicalization of Female Genital Cutting in Egypt

The medicalisation of female genital cutting: Harm reduction or social norm?

“…A number of studies indeed confirm that the medicalisation of FGC is also highly stratified and subject to a number of identifiable factors. Studies focusing on medicalisation indeed found that women with a higher level of education, a higher socioeconomic position, a wealthier household, as well as those living in urban areas where health facilities are accessible and families are more likely to be exposed to health education messages, are more inclined to have their daughters cut by a trained health professional ( Van Eekert et al 2018). In line with these findings, we therefore propose that The higher the social position of the mother, the higher the likelihood that her daughter will be cut by a trained health professional (Hypothesis 1).…”

“…Medicalisation of FGC is thus considered by some as a kind of transition process leading ultimately to complete abandonment of FGC, which might be labelled the demedicalisation of FGC, such as the demedicalisation of methadone treatments. In contrast to the harm-reduction approach to drugs and alcohol use, which focuses on the individual or health position of the most vulnerable groups, the medicalisation option for FGC is chosen more by mothers with a higher social position ( Van Eekert et al 2018). Based on the harm-reduction argument, we expect that Mothers who have a higher social position will be more likely to opt for a medicalised cut when they have a less supportive attitude towards FGC (Hypothesis 2a) and live in a region where the percentage of girls who were recently cut is higher than elsewhere (Hypothesis 2b).…”

“…Women's social position was operationalised in line with context-specific literature on female empowerment ( Van Eekert et al 2018). It was measured in terms of employment position, level of education, household wealth, age at first birth, spousal age difference, the degree of autonomy in household decision-making and gender violence attitudes.…”

An examination of the medicalization trend in female genital cutting in Egypt: How does it relate to a girl's risk of being cut?

“…According to the EDHS from 2014, 91% of women who have ever been married have been cut [5,10,11]. While prevalence rates have decreased in more recent birth cohorts, within the group of girls that are cut, the procedure is increasingly performed by a medical professional rather than a traditional circumciser [2,4].…”

“…Mothers with a higher social position are, however, less likely to have their daughters cut, because they have more alternative sources of empowerment available to themand thus attain a certain social positionwhich decreases the incentives for FGC [16][17][18]. The social position of the mother has also been found to be related to the medicalization trend in Egypt, with women who occupy a higher social position more likely to opt for a medicalized cut [11]. This was explained by the finding that these mothers more often live in urban areas and have the financial resources and knowledge, which enables them to find their way to the medical health system [16,17].…”