The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Trends and protective factors of female genital mutilation in Burkina Faso: 1999 to 2010

Trends and protective factors of female genital mutilation in Burkina Faso: 1999 to 2010
Trends and protective factors of female genital mutilation in Burkina Faso: 1999 to 2010
Background

The practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is common in several African countries and some parts of Asia. This practice is not only a violation of human rights, but also puts women at risk of adverse health outcomes. This paper analysed the trends in the prevalence of FGM in Burkina Faso and investigated factors that are associated with this practice following the enactment of an FGM law in 1996.

Methods

The study used the Burkina Faso Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data sets from women aged 15 to 49 years undertaken in 1999, 2003 and 2010. Chi square tests were carried out to investigate whether there has been a change in the levels of FGM in Burkina Faso between 1999 and 2010 and multilevel logistic regression analysis were employed to identify factors that were significantly associated with undergoing FGM.

Results

The levels of FGM in Burkina Faso declined significantly from 83.6% in 1999 to 76.1% in 2010. The percentage of women circumcised between the ages of 0 to 5 years increased from 34.2% in 1999 to 69% in 2010. Significantly more women in 2010 than in 1999 were of the opinion that FGM should stop (90.6% versus 75.1%, respectively). In 2010, the odds of getting circumcised were lowest amongst women that were born in the period 1990 to 1995 (immediately before the FGM law was enacted) compared to women born in the period 1960-1965 [OR 0.16 (0.13,0.20)]. There was significant variation of FGM across communities. Other factors that were significantly associated with being circumcised were education level, religion, ethnicity, urban residence and age at marriage.

Conclusions

Although the prevalence of FGM has declined in Burkina Faso, the levels are still high. In order to tackle the practice of FGM in Burkina Faso, the government of Burkina Faso and its development partners need to encourage girls’ participation in education and target its sensitization campaigns against FGM towards Muslim women, women residing in rural areas and women of Mossi ethnic background.
1475-9276
1-10
Chikhungu, Lana Clara
db8d9e7a-183e-49aa-aa84-0ff3f0cbb86d
Madise, Nyovani
2ea2fbcc-50da-4696-a0a5-2fe01db63d8c
Chikhungu, Lana Clara
db8d9e7a-183e-49aa-aa84-0ff3f0cbb86d
Madise, Nyovani
2ea2fbcc-50da-4696-a0a5-2fe01db63d8c

Chikhungu, Lana Clara and Madise, Nyovani (2015) Trends and protective factors of female genital mutilation in Burkina Faso: 1999 to 2010. International Journal for Equity in Health, 14 (1), 1-10. (doi:10.1186/s12939-015-0171-1). (PMID:25952361)

Record type: Article

Abstract

Background

The practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is common in several African countries and some parts of Asia. This practice is not only a violation of human rights, but also puts women at risk of adverse health outcomes. This paper analysed the trends in the prevalence of FGM in Burkina Faso and investigated factors that are associated with this practice following the enactment of an FGM law in 1996.

Methods

The study used the Burkina Faso Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data sets from women aged 15 to 49 years undertaken in 1999, 2003 and 2010. Chi square tests were carried out to investigate whether there has been a change in the levels of FGM in Burkina Faso between 1999 and 2010 and multilevel logistic regression analysis were employed to identify factors that were significantly associated with undergoing FGM.

Results

The levels of FGM in Burkina Faso declined significantly from 83.6% in 1999 to 76.1% in 2010. The percentage of women circumcised between the ages of 0 to 5 years increased from 34.2% in 1999 to 69% in 2010. Significantly more women in 2010 than in 1999 were of the opinion that FGM should stop (90.6% versus 75.1%, respectively). In 2010, the odds of getting circumcised were lowest amongst women that were born in the period 1990 to 1995 (immediately before the FGM law was enacted) compared to women born in the period 1960-1965 [OR 0.16 (0.13,0.20)]. There was significant variation of FGM across communities. Other factors that were significantly associated with being circumcised were education level, religion, ethnicity, urban residence and age at marriage.

Conclusions

Although the prevalence of FGM has declined in Burkina Faso, the levels are still high. In order to tackle the practice of FGM in Burkina Faso, the government of Burkina Faso and its development partners need to encourage girls’ participation in education and target its sensitization campaigns against FGM towards Muslim women, women residing in rural areas and women of Mossi ethnic background.

Text
s12939-015-0171-1.pdf - Version of Record
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution.
Download (542kB)

More information

Accepted/In Press date: 21 April 2015
Published date: 8 May 2015
Organisations: Social Sciences

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 377384
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/377384
ISSN: 1475-9276
PURE UUID: 384188ca-9a3b-4c74-b861-16a064d770e5
ORCID for Nyovani Madise: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-2813-5295

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 22 May 2015 15:36
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 20:02

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: Lana Clara Chikhungu
Author: Nyovani Madise ORCID iD

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×