Volume 29, Issue 3
DOI: 10.53555/03276716.2020.963
Socio-Cultural Issues Associated with Female Genital Mutilation (Fgm) in Rural Communities in Nigeria
Abstract
The ban and campaigns against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) notwithstanding, cultural beliefs still pose as barrier to ending FGM in some communities in Nigeria. The study explored cultural issues associated with FGM in rural communities in Ebonyi State, Nigeria using qualitative approach. In-depth interviews were conducted with forty-four adults (18 years and above) from four communities in Ebonyi State. Thematic analysis was done with NVivo 11 software. Six themes emerged after the analysis: cultural names and significance of FGM, FGM a cultural norm before childbirth, belief on usefulness of FGM, attitudes towards FGM, traditional rituals associated with FGM, and religion, a factor in FGM. Based on the findings, we concluded that cultural norms and beliefs, attitudes and traditional religion were associated with FGM. We suggested that government should scale up campaign against FGM in rural communities and also engage community leaders and elders in a community-based sexuality education programme.
Keywords
Culture, Female Genital Mutilation, Rural Communities, Nigeria