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 SELECTED STATISTICS ON WOMEN’S STATUS

DIVISION OF POLICY AND STRATEGY

Guinea

IRAQ

Source: MICS 2011

24%5% 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

12% of women 20-24 years have given birthby age 18

51%of women 15-49 years think that a husband/partner is justified in hittingor beating his wife under certain circumstances

53% of women 15-49 years in union currently using any contraceptive method

2011 National decree/legislation banning FGM/C passed in Kurdistan Region

Data and Analytics Section

© UNICEF/NYHQ1991-1259/Isaac

14

3 4 2

10

2 1 4

1 0

10

20

30

40

50

Total Urban Rural No education

Primary complete

Secondaryand higher

Koranic/Non-standard

Poorest Richest

8 6 9 10

4

0

10

20

30

40

50

Total Rural Urban Poorest Richest

In Iraq, the practice of FGM/C is concentrated in a few northern regions

Approximately half of girls and women underwent FMG/C after age 5, but for one in four women it is unclear at what age the practice occurred

HOW WIDESPREAD IS THE PRACTICE?

WHEN AND HOW IS FGM/C PERFORMED?

P 15-49 years who have at least one daughter who has had FGM/C, by place of residence and mother's education

Percentage distribution of most recently cut daughters, by daughter's age at cutting

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 governate

Percentage of girls and women aged 15 to 49 years who have undergone FGM/C, by residence and household wealth quintile

Percentage of ever-married girls and women aged 15 to 49 years with at least one living daughter who has undergone FGM/C, by residence, mother's education and household wealth quintile

Daughters whose mothers think

FGM/C should continue

Percentage distribution of girls and women aged 15 to 49 years who have undergone FGM/C, by age at which cutting occurred

0 20 40 60 80 100

Percentage distribution of ever-married girls and women aged 15 to 49 years with at least one living daughter who has undergone FGM/C, according to the type of person/practitioner performing the procedure

27

0 20 40 60 80 100

HOW WIDESPREAD IS THE PRACTICE?

WHEN AND HOW IS FGM/C PERFORMED?

Daughters whosemothers are

unsure

Daughters whosemothers think

FGM/C should stop

0-4 years

5-9 years

10-14 years 40 26

15+ years

Don’t know/Missing

16

0

20

40

60

80

100

66

48

15

Traditionalpractitioner

Health personnel

Don’t know/Missing

25

29 51

6

10% - 25%

26% - 50%

51% - 80%

Less than 10%

Above 80%

Notes: The boundaries and the names shown and the designations used on the map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by 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. There is no ethnicity or religion data for Iraq. ‘Health personnel’ includes doctors, nurses, midwives and other health workers; ‘Traditional practitioner’ refers to ‘traditional (unlicensed) birth attendant/grandmother’; ‘Other’ refers to the combined categories ‘other’ and ‘relative/friend’.

Source for all charts on this page: MICS 2011

Other

0

Among daughters of cut girls and women, the percentage of those who have undergone FGM/C, by mothers’ attitudes about whether the

practice should continue

Percentage of girls and women aged 15 to 49 years who have undergone FGM/C, by current age

Percentage of girls and women aged 15 to 49 years who have heard about FGM/C, by their attitudes about whether the practice should continue

Almost all girls and women in Iraq think that FGM/C should stop

Source for all charts on this page: MICS 2011Note: There are no ethnicity data for Iraq.

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, residence and age

In Erbil, the region with the highest FGM/C prevalence, the percentage of girls and women aged 15 to 49 years who have undergone FGM/C, by current age

In Erbil, the region with the highest level of FGM/C, the prevalence has dropped significantly over time

WHAT ARE THE PREVAILING ATTITUDES TOWARDS FGM/C?

IS THE PRACTICE OF FGM/C CHANGING?

70 69 67 58 59 55

43

0

20

40

60

80

100

45-49 40-44 35-39 30-34 25-29 20-24 15-19

5

13

1

17

6 2

5 9

4 7

4

0

10

20

30

40

50

Total Poorest Richest No education Primary complete Secondary or higher

Koranic/non-standard curriculum

Rural Urban 45-49 years 15-19 years

10 9 10 9 9 8 5

0

10

20

30

40

50

45-49 40-44 35-39 30-34 25-29 20-24 15-19

885 8

Think FGM/C should continue Think FGM/C should stop Say it depends/are not sure

0 100 20 40 60 80

INTER-COUNTRY STATISTICAL OVERVIEW

IRAQ

1 2 2 3 5 6 7 9 9 10 11 14 17 21

31 34 37 38 41 41 42 45 49

54

64 65 66 69 73

Benin

Togo

Ghana

Niger

Iraq

Camero

on

Ugand

a

Burkina

Faso

Kenya

Côte d'

Ivoire

Seneg

al

Nigeria

Ethiop

ia

Guinea

-Biss

au

Djibou

ti

Chad

Maurita

nia

Yemen

Sudan

Liberi

a

Eritrea

Egypt

Gambia

Somali

a

Sierra

Leon

e

Guinea

Mali

1 1 2 4 4 8

13 15 17 24 26 27 27

38 44

50

66 69

74 76 76

88 88 89 89 91 93 96 98

0

20

40

60

80

100

Camero

on

Ugand

a

Niger

Ghana

To

go

Iraq

Benin

Yemen

Centra

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an

Repub

lic Seneg

al

Nigeria

Kenya

Côte d'

Ivoire

Chad

Guinea

-Biss

au

Liberi

a

Maurita

nia

Ethiop

ia

Burkina

Faso

Gambia

Sudan

Sierra

Leon

e Mali

Eritrea

Egypt

Djibou

ti

Guinea

Somali

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n - Division of Policy and Strategy UNICEF, 3 UN Plaza, New York, 10017

Website: www.childinfo.org Email: childinfo@unicef.org

FOR MORE INFORMATION

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Centra

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Released December 2013

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

Percentage of girls and women aged 15 to 49 years with at least one living daughter who has undergone FGM/C

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

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. Data on daughters for Iraq refer to ever-married girls and women with at least one daughter who has undergone FGM/C. Data on attitudes for Ghana are from MICS 2006, for Nigeria from DHS 2008, and for Sierra Leone from DHS 2008 as data from the most recently available MICS surveys are not comparable. In Liberia, only cutgirls 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.

0

20

40

60

80

100

1 1 2 3 3 8

18

39 46

49 57

63

74

Niger

Camero

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Kenya

Chad

Guinea

-Biss

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Somali

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Djibou

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Guinea

Eritrea

Mali

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Sources: DHS, MICS, National Social Protection Monitoring Survey and SHHS, 1997-2012