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European Journal of Social Sciences - Volume 2, Number 1 (2006) exercise some caution in interpreting this result more so that no clinical examination of respondents was carried out to confirm their self-reported FGM status and type. Nevertheless, the data reported in this study can be relied upon to a reasonable degree when viewed in the context of numerous other studies which had investigated the prevalence of FGM in Nigeria and other African countries. For instance, Epstein, Graham & Rimsza (2001) reported that FGM was performed on 89% of females in Northern Sudan and on about 98% of Somali females. In the same vein, Allam, Irala-Estevez & Novajas (1999) reported that 95% of Egyptian females were mutilated to some degree. Several prior studies in Nigeria had reported high prevalence of FGM ranging from 70 to 95% (Briggs, 2002 and Modupe & Lola, 1985). However, the high prevalence of FGM as reported in this study raises doubts concerning the efficacy of various local and national public enlightenment campaigns mounted by the Nigerian government in recent time to stop the practice of FGM. The present data on the prevalence of FGM, which is as high as was reported in studies conducted several years before the present study, suggests that campaign efforts to stop the practice had either not been well targeted or that the efforts had not been strong enough to produce any significant reduction in the practice. It is noteworthy that majority of respondents who experienced FGM reported carrying out the procedure on at least one daughter within the last five years. This seems difficult to explain considering that the respondents also admitted that FGM had negative effects on its victims. It is certainly a matter of serious concern that the victims, in spite of the negative effects of the practice on them, did not just believe that FGM was good but actually performed the procedure on their daughters. This phenomenon tends to confirm the observation in the joint report of the World Health Organization and the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (1992) that victims of the practice are often its strongest proponents. The justification for FGM, as found out in this study, was largely grounded in the desire to protect the local custom of the people. Other highly favored reasons include the need to control a woman’s sexual appetite, compliance with husband’s desire to have the female child circumcised, prevention of sexual promiscuity by unmarried girls and the need to save the life of an unborn baby, which necessitates the cutting of the mother’s clitoris so that the baby’s head does not touch it during delivery. Most of these reasons are not only self-contradictory but highly incompatible with biological facts. Interestingly, majority of respondents disagreed that the practice was a necessary religious obligation, though a greater percentage of Muslim respondents were more favorably disposed toward the continuation of the practice than their Christian counterparts. Another major finding of this study is the influence of some selected variables on respondents’ attitude to FGM. When respondents’ attitudes to FGM were examined based on selected background variables, it was found that age, level of education and husband’s support for the practice significantly influenced their attitudes. With regard to age and education, older respondents and those with lower levels of education showed more support for the practice than younger and more educated respondents. This is consistent with findings from several studies in Nigeria and elsewhere (Adinma, 1997; Ehigiegba, et al, 1998; Adongo, et al, 1998; Mbacke et al, 1998; EFCS, 1996). It is instructive that the results of this study showed that women’s attitude to FGM were significantly influenced by their husbands’ support for the practice. Respondents who reported that their husbands supported the practice or were indifferent to it demonstrated a stronger support for the continuation of the practice than those whose husbands opposed it. This suggests that Nigerian men have a significant role to play in the eradication of FGM. If men withdraw their support for the practice, it is likely that their wives would change their attitude. It is, however, puzzling that the awareness of negative consequences of FGM by respondents did not significantly influence their attitudes. Ordinarily, one expects that the awareness of health hazards and other negative consequences associated with a practice should be enough to make those who engage in it change their attitude to the practice and consequently withdraw their support. However, despite their awareness of and personal exposure to the negative effects of FGM, 120
International Research Journal of Finance and Economics – Volume 2, Number I (2006) respondents still demonstrated support for the practice obviously because of the widespread wrong belief that the social benefits of FGM far outweigh any health hazards associated with it. It is imperative to assist victims of FGM to correct the erroneous conviction that FGM procedures performed on them had been necessary for their personal benefits, a conviction which had served as the social motivation needed for the perpetuation of the practice at all costs. Conclusion This study has confirmed the high prevalence of female genital mutilation in Nigeria. It identified adherence to local custom, protection of female children from sexual promiscuity, control of women’s sexual appetite and compliance with husbands’ wish as major reasons for the continuation of the practice. Other findings from the study indicated that age, level of education and husband’s support for FGM significantly influenced women’s attitudes to the practice. The multi-factorial nature of these findings points to the fact that programs for the eradication of FGM would require a multifaceted and multi-disciplinary approach if they are to achieve any significant reduction in the practice. The results of this study suggest the need for Nigerian government to treat the practice of FGM as a serious public health issue. Consistent and committed public enlightenment and awareness campaigns are needed to convince individuals about the harmful effects of the practice and mobilize the entire community against it. Since the practice is deeply rooted in the people’s local custom, campaign efforts aimed at changing the deeply-felt beliefs of the people should be incorporated into the nation’s primary and secondary school health education curriculum and taught to children during their formative years. It is important that the campaign to eradicate FGM should be directed at both men and women. It is naïve to treat the issue of FGM as a purely feminist affair. This study has demonstrated that the practice is supported and encouraged by men, who are decision makers in each family. What this implies is that FGM will be minimized if, for instance, men change the belief that uncircumcised women are likely to be promiscuous as wives and therefore unmarriageable. In view of the widespread cultural support for FGM, it appears that outlawing the practice and imposing legal sanctions on practitioners by the government may not be enforceable and, in fact, may be counter-productive. A purely legal approach might force practitioners to go underground for fear of legal sanctions and their victims might stop seeking medical care to prevent family members who carried out the procedure on them from being prosecuted. Instead of legal sanctions by the government, Toubia (1995) advocated clear policy declaration and a strong message of disapproval followed by consistent public information campaigns. For effective results, FGM eradication campaigns should be backed with well-coordinated professional counselling intervention programs. Professional health counsellors and psychologists are needed to present in a persuasive and non-judgmental way, and using the people’s experience, the biological facts which make FGM unnecessary. Counselling intervention aimed at dispelling the superstitions surrounding the practice should be targeted at all facets of the community but with extra focus on traditional midwives and birth attendants, practitioners of traditional medicine, community and religious leaders with a view to enlisting their support for the general efforts to abolish the practice. Finally, it is pertinent to realize that because of its present high prevalence, effective FGM eradication program in Nigeria, as in many African nations, will require massive human and financial resources, consistence and commitment. Until African nations, perhaps assisted by the Western world, are able to provide the required resources for its eradication, it appears the practice of FGM will continue for now unabated. 121
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