Female Genital Mutilation in Iraqi Kurdistan: Description and Associated Factors (2013)
This study is a Correlation research regarding I FGM/C with the following characteristics:
Author(s): Saleem,Rozhgar A.; Othman,Nasih; Fattah,Fattah H.; Hazim,Luma; Adnan,Berivan
FGM/C Type(s): I
Health area of focus: N/A.
Objective: The study was undertaken to estimate its prevalence and describe factors associated with its occurrence.
Study Population: Women
Findings: Overall female genital mutilation prevalence was 23%,and the mean age at which it had been performed was 4.6 years (SD 2.4). Type I (partial or total removal of the clitoris) comprised 76% of those who had had female genital mutilation; in 79% of cases the decision to perform it was made by the mother; and in 54% of cases it was performed by traditional birth attendants/midwives. Women aged 16 years and over were more likely to have had female genital mutilation compared to children aged below 6 years (OR 11.9,p < .001). Children of uneducated mothers were eight times as likely to have had genital mutilation compared to children of mothers with over nine years of education (OR 8.0,p < .001). Among women aged 17 years and younger,34% of those who were married had been circumcised versus 17% of those who were not married (p < .001). Participants residing in the northeast of Kurdistan region were more likely to have been circumcised. The study results show that female genital mutilation is a frequent practice in Iraqi Kurdistan. Attention and intervention is needed to address this aspect of the well-being of girls and women
Geographical coverage
Region(s):Western Asia
Country(ies):Iraq