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STATISTICAL PROFILE ON FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION/CUTTING
Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) refers to “all procedures involving partial or total removal of the female external genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.” More than 125 million girls and women alive today have been cut in the 29 countries in Africa and the Middle East where FGM/C is concentrated. As many as 30 million girls are at risk of being cut before their 15th birthday if current trends continue. FGM/C is a violation of girls’ and women’s human rights and is condemned by many international treaties and conventions, as well as by national legislation in many countries. Yet, where it is practised FGM/C is performed in line with tradition and social norms to ensure that girls are socially accepted and marriageable, and to uphold their status and honour and that of the entire family. UNICEF works with government and civil society partners towards the elimination of FGM/C in countries where it is still practised.
1. World Health Organization, Eliminating Female Genital Mutilation: An interagency statement, WHO, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNIFEM, OHCHR, UNHCR, UNECA, UNESCO, UNDP, UNAIDS, WHO, Geneva, 2008, p. 4.
1
KEY STATISTICS ON WOMEN’S STATUS
DIVISION OF POLICY AND STRATEGY
Guinea
NIGERIA
Source: DHS 2013 and MICS 2011
43%17% of women 20-24 years were married or
in union before age 15
of women 20-24 years were married or in union before age 18
29% of women 20-24 years have given birth by age 18
35%of women 15-49 years think that a husband/partner is justified in hitting/beating his wife under certain circumstances
50%of women 15-49 years make use of at least one type of information media atleast once a week (newspaper, maga - zine, television or radio)
1999-2006 National legislation criminalizing FGM/C passed in some states
Data and Analytics Section
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0 20 40 60 80 100
17 17 17 19 16 1419
13
0
20
40
60
80
100
Total Rural Urban No education
Primary Secondary
9
More thansecondary
Poorest Richest
25
55
0.3
35 31 29 20
0
20
40
60
80
100
Total Ethnic groupwith highestprevalence
Ethnic groupwith lowestprevalence
Traditionalist RomanCatholic
OtherChristians
Muslim
In Nigeria, the prevalence of FGM/C varies significantly by state
Almost all women experienced the practice before age 5
HOW WIDESPREAD IS THE PRACTICE?
P 15-49 years who have at least one daughter who has had FGM/C, by place of residence and mother's education
Percentage of girls and women aged 15-49 yearswho have had FGM/C, by préfecture
Percentage of girls and women aged 15 to 49 years who have undergone FGM/C, by state
Percentage of girls and women aged 15 to 49 years who have undergone FGM/C, by ethnicity and religion
Percentage of girls aged 0 to 14 years who have undergone FGM/C (as reported by their mothers), by residence, mother's education and household wealth quintile
Among daughters of cut girls and women, the percentage of girls aged 0 to 14 years who have undergone FGM/C (as reported by their mothers),
by mothers' attitudes about whether the practice should continue
Percentage distribution of girls and women aged 15 to 49 years who have undergone FGM/C, by age at which cutting occurred
Source for all charts on this page: DHS 2013,
Source: MICS 2011
unless otherwise noted
Notes: The boundaries and the names shown and the designations used on the map do not imply official endorsement or acceptanceby the United Nations. Only categories with 25 or more unweighted cases are presented. Due to rounding, some of the data presented may not add up to 100 per cent. Prevalence data for girls aged 0 to14 reflect their current, but not final, FGM/C status since some girlswho have not been cut may still be at risk of experiencing the practiceonce they reach the customary age for cutting. Therefore, the dataon prevalence for girls under age 15 is actually an underestimationof the true extent of the practice. Since age at cutting varies amongsettings, the amount of underestimation also varies and this shouldbe kept in mind when interpreting all FGM/C prevalence data for thisage group. ‘Health personnel’ includes doctors, nurses, midwives and other health workers; ‘Traditional practitioner’ includes traditionalcircumcisers, traditional birth attendants, traditional midwives and other types of traditional practitioners.
HOW WIDESPREAD IS THE PRACTICE?
0-4 years
5-9 years
10-14 years
15+ years
Don’t know/Missing
Percentage distribution of most recently cut daughters, by daughter's age at cutting
Percentage distribution of girls aged 0 to 14 years who have undergone FGM/C (as reported by their mothers),
by type of FGM/C performed
Percentage distribution of girls aged 0 to 14 years who have undergone FGM/C (as reported by their mothers), according to the
type of person/practitioner performing the procedure
64
15
Daughters whosemothers thinkFGM/C should
continue
Daughters whosemothers are
unsure
Daughters whosemothers say it
depends
Daughters whosemothers think
FGM/C should stop
21
43
WHEN AND HOW IS FGM/C PERFORMED?
Traditionalpractitioner
Health personnel
Don’t know/Missing
Not sewnclosed
Sewn closed
Don’t know/Missing
0
20
40
60
80
100
10% - 25%
26% - 50%
51% - 80%
Less than 10%
Above 80%
82 4 5 7 2
12 2
87
3 5
93
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Think FGM/C should continue Think FGM/C should stop Say it depends/are not sure
WHAT ARE THE PREVAILING ATTITUDES TOWARDS FGM/C?
IS THE PRACTICE OF FGM/C CHANGING?
Percentage of girls and women aged 15 to 49 who have undergone FGM/C, by current age
Percentage of girls and women aged 15 to 49 years and boys and men aged 15 to 49 yearswho have heard about FGM/C, by their attitudes about whether the practice should continue
More than half of girls and women and boys and men think FGM/C should stop
Percentage of girls and women aged 15 to 49 years who have heard about FGM/C and think the practice should continue, by household wealth quintile, education, ethnicity and age
There is evidence of significant generational change in the prevalence of FGM/C in Nigeria as women aged 45-49 are around twice as likely to have been cut than girls aged 15-19
Source for all above charts: DHS 2013
Percentage of girls and women aged 15 to 49 years who have undergone FGM/C, by survey year
45-49 years 45-49 years
Percentage of girls and women aged 15 to 49 years and boys and men aged 15 to 49 years who have heard of FGM/C and believe the
practice is required by religion
0
10
20
30
40
50
Boys and menGirls and women
15
23
31
16
2319
32
1
23 23
24
0 20 40 60 80 100
Girls andwomen
Boys andmen 62
13
1127
23 64
0
10
20
30
40
50
15-19 years45-49 yearsEthnic group withlowest support
Ethnic group withhighest support
Secondaryor higher
Primary complete
Noeducation
RichestPoorestTotal
29
0
10
20
30
40
50
15-1920-2425-2930-3435-3940-4445-49
36 3330 27
23 2215
0
20
40
60
80
100
DHS 2013MICS 2011MICS 2007
26 27 25
Notes: Trends in attitudes towards the practice are not included since findings from 1999, 2003 and 2008 (DHS) are not fully comparable. Similarly, data on the prevalence of FGM/C in 1999, 2003 and
2008 (DHS) are not included since findings are not fully comparable.
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NIGERIA
INTER-COUNTRY STATISTICAL OVERVIEW
0
20
40
60
80
100
Somali
a
Guinea
Djibou
tiEgy
ptMali
Sierra
Leon
eSud
an
Eritrea
Gambia
Burkina
Faso
Ethiop
ia
Maurita
nia
Liberi
a
Guinea
-Biss
auCha
d
Côte d'
Ivoire
Kenya
Seneg
al
Nigeria
Centra
l Afric
an
Repub
licYem
en
United
Rep
ublic
of Tan
zaniaIra
qBen
inTog
o
Ghana
Niger
Ugand
a
Camero
on
0
20
40
60
80
100
GuineaMali
Sierra
Leon
e
Somali
a
Gambia
Egypt
Liberi
aSud
an
Yemen
Maurita
niaCha
d
Djibou
ti
Guinea
-Biss
au
Ethiop
ia
Nigeria
Seneg
al
Côte d'
Ivoire
Eritrea
Centra
l Afric
an
Repub
licKenya
Burkina
Faso
Ugand
a
Camero
onNige
r
United
Rep
ublic
of Tan
zaniaIra
q
Ghana
Benin
Togo
1 1 2 4 4 7 8 15 17
24 25 26 27
38 44
50
66 69 74 76 76
88 88 89 83
91 93 97 98
2 2 2 5 6 6 7 9 9 10 11 12 14 17 23
31 34 37 38 41 41 42 4554
64 65 66 73 76
Notes: Data on attitudes for Yemen refer to ever-married girls and women. In Liberia, girls and women who have heard of the Sande society were asked whether they were members; this provides indirect information on FGM/C since it is performed during initiation into the society. Egypt data refer to girls aged 0-17 years who have undergone FGM/C. Data on attitudes for Ghana are from MICS 2006 and for Sierra Leone from DHS 2008 as data from the most recently available MICS surveys are not comparable. In Liberia, only cut girls and women were asked about their attitudes towards FGM/C; since girls and women from practising communities are more likely to support the practice, the level of support in this country as captured by the DHS 2007 is higher than would be anticipated had all girls and women been asked their opinion.
Percentage of girls and women aged 15 to 49 years who have heard about FGM/C and think the practice should continue
Percentage of girls and women aged 15 to 49 years who have undergone FGM/C
n - Division of Policy and Strategy UNICEF, 3 UN Plaza, New York, 10017
Website: data.unicef.org Email: [email protected]
FOR MORE INFORMATIONSources: DHS, MICS, National Social Protection Monitoring Survey, Population and Health Survey, SHHS and Welfare Monitoring Survey, 1997-2013 Updated July 2014
These country profiles were made possible through core funding to UNICEFand financial assistance of the European Union. The contents of these country profiles are the sole responsibility of UNICEF and can in no way reflect the viewsof the European Union.
The Data and Analytics Section gratefully acknowledges inputs shared by UNICEF country offices.
Data and Analytics Sectio
0.3 0.4 1 1 110 13 13
46
0
20
40
60
80
100
Gambia
Maurita
nia
Guinea
Sudan
Eritrea
Ethiop
iaEgy
pt
Seneg
al
Nigeria
Yemen
Burkina
Faso
Sierra
Leon
e
Côte d'
Ivoire
Ugand
a
Centra
l Afric
an
Repub
licGhana
Togo
Benin
1824 24
33
17
Percentage of girls aged 0 to 14 years who have undergone FGM/C (as reported by their mothers)
37
15
54 56