Abstract
Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) continues to be a widespread practice in Egypt. According to the 2014 Egypt Demographic and Health Survey, the prevalence of FGM/C was 92 percent among ever-married women aged 15–49. However, Egypt continues to witness a drastic surge in the medicalization of FGM/C, with 74 percent of women aged 19 years and younger circumcised by medical practitioners, compared to 55 percent in 1995. This policy brief provides key results and recommendations of four studies conducted by the Population Council/ Egypt under the Evidence to End FGM/C project, in coordination with Egypt’s National Population Council. The four studies investigated the process through which families reach a decision on FGM/C; study the impact of FGM/C campaigns on the perspectives surrounding the practice; examine the characteristics of abandoners and challenges they face in maintaining their position; and understand the drivers of the medicalization of the practice. The ultimate goal of the studies, conducted between 2016 and 2019, is to assist the National Taskforce for Ending Female Genital Mutilation/Circumcision in developing evidence-based policies and programs to accelerate the abandonment of FGM/C.
