In Kenya,Community Traits Affect Women’s Decisions On Daughters’ Circumcision (2005)
This study is a Descriptive research regarding All FGM/C with the following characteristics:
Author(s): International Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health
FGM/C Type(s): All
Health area of focus: None.
Objective: To assess the extent to which individual and community-level characteristics are associated with women’s decisions to have their daughters circumcised,the analyst used data from the 1998 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (DHS).
Study Population: Women
Findings: Overall,38% of women aged 15-49 reported experienced genital cutting. The proportion of women who had been circumcised increased with age and decreased with education and exposure to media. The relationship between genital cutting and household wealth was less clear: Greater proportions of women in the third and fourth lowest quintiles of wealth (50% and 47%,respectively) than of those in the bottom quintile (31%) or top two quintiles (26-30%) had been circumcised. Forty-two percent of rural women reported having experienced genital cutting,compared with 23% of urban women. Finally,the proportion of circumcised women varied dramatically by ethnic group: For example,97% of Kisii and 89% of Masai were circumcised,compared with 43% of Kikuyu and only 1% of Luo. Among circumcised women,46% planned to circumcise their daughters or had done so. Patterns in daughters’ circumcision by education,media exposure and household wealth were similar to those for women overall; however,the proportion circumcised did not vary as much by area of residence or by ethnicity among daughters as it did among women overall. Also,no clear pattern was seen in the relationship between daughter’s circumcision and daughter’s age.
Geographical coverage
Region(s):Eastern Africa
Country(ies):Kenya